Date a Live: Our Ancestor's Mistakes
by fgtdyd
Summary: Time always marches forward, and the world moves along with it. There are no more Spirits, no more Ratatoskr, no more DEM Industries, and the name Shido Itsuka has been long forgotten. The world has begun anew, a clean slate to start a new story on. However, those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it. [AU] [OC-focused]
1. Chapter 1

**Before we get started, i'd like to personally welcome you all to Your Power for a Kiss, a Date a Live story in the making for almost _three_ years. Granted, most of that time was just spent waiting, but this story has stuck with me for a very long time, and I'm excited to bring it here today. First things first, some context.**

 **This story was first conceived around the release of Volume 11, and a lot of details on various characters' backstories has been revealed since then. However, since I worked on this story before all that came out, I will not be including a lot of canon information from the recent light novels. Rather, this story will be more like "how I think it should've happened." On top of that, I really want to emphasize what the summary said. This story is very... _very_ OC-centric. With all that said, you could probably call this an AU, and it would be an accurate descriptor.**

 **If you have any tips, advice, or criticisms, feel free to tell me in the reviews. I'd like to improve as I write this story, and your help would be much appreciated.**

 **Without further ado, let's get this show on the road.**

* * *

A void. That's all there was. The very lack of thought constituted the space, the abyssal darkness stretched into unfathomable horizons, and it lied far underneath the deepest depths. One could not call this reality, for it required tangibility to be real. Yet, it couldn't be called a dream, because no imagination could deem it as such. Forever the emptiness stretched, far beyond the cosmos, yet not constituting any of it.

Despite the fact, the blankness had… no, was everything. Every conceivable shape and form occupied every corner, and the infinite horizons shown with indescribable color. Unbridled collective thought built the very perception of it. One could find everything they wanted, as well as everything they didn't want. It wasn't just a void, it was also fullness.

Surely, such a thing could only exist outside of existence. Perhaps it was what created existence.

Amongst the surreality, a figure floated amid the metaphysical concepts. Despite the very nature of the realm, the singular individual remained completely visible, conceivable, and ultimately, real.

This person was cloaked in a fabulous assortment of cloths and fabrics, seemingly composed of the endless multitudes within the realm. It displayed stunning varieties of color and boasted of fine craftsmanship, yet remained meek and humble in appearance. Something so elegant could only be worthy of a goddess.

Her joyous laughter echoed into the vast nothingness, sounding nothing less than pure. Her crystal eyes trained on something she cradled in her arms. A smile formed on her face of pure ethereal beauty. "You're finally here!" she cried, twirling around. "You're finally with me!"

She cradled an object swaddled in silky clothing, not unlike her own. A newborn's head poked out of the top, eyes squinted shut and not making a sound. The woman continued to giggle, suiting of a new mother.

"To see you… touch you… you have no idea what joy that brings me," she spoke softly. The baby cooed in response.

"Shh…" she told it, softly stroking the baby's head with dainty fingers. "You are going to accomplish great things. You will be the one to restore what was lost, and vanquish those who sought to destroy. Through you, divinity will be reborn."

The baby shifted itself in its swaddling clothes, causing the woman to laugh quietly, and brought its forehead up to hers. "Yes, that will be you..." she declared. The infant's eyelids slid open, revealing the little brown orbs underneath, and she smiled.

" _My little Shido."_

* * *

On the beautiful morning of October 10th, a teenager slept soundly in his bed. The sun slowly crept upward into the sky, light beams crawling up the sides of the houses and creeping into his room. However, the sun wasn't what woke him from his slumber.

 **BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEE-click**

The annoying chirps of the alarm clock were silenced as a hand slammed on the "off" button. The teenager sat upright in the nearby bed, stretching and yawning while his groggy eyes stared at the clock. It read a clear 8:00 AM.

 _That's strange…_ he thought, running a hand through his messy brown hair. _Usually Seraph or Shadow wakes me up before eight o'clock. What happened?_

Oddly disappointed at the lack of rude awakening, he stood up from his mattress and wandered to his door, where he found a yellow sticky note attached to it. Peeling it off, he mumbled what was written on it.

 _ **Hey Aviar!**_

 _ **Shadow and I had to go run an errand this morning, and we won't be back until around noon. Breakfast's on the stove. Also, remember to put it away this time. Don't want all that delicious food going to waste, do we? :)**_

 _ **-Seraph**_

"Oh… that's what happened."

Aviar crumpled up the note and tossed it into his trash can. "Wonder what they're doing…" he muttered. He shook his head and chuckled. "Seriously, can't you wait a single day before leaving me hanging?"

Moving to his dresser, he began to pull out freshly unpacked clothes to replace his pajamas. _We just moved here for crying out loud, give me some time to adjust._

Looking at the unfamiliar surroundings through his windows, he sighed deeply.

 _My name's Aviar Dinistro. Sixteen years old, and freshly moved to the city. I've been living with Seraph my whole life, and I can't remember anything about my early childhood or my real parents, so she's the closest thing I've had to a mother. Shadow is the nickname for Velia Amileen, my best friend. She essentially grew up with me, and we're rather inseparable._

 _Recently, Seraph released some big news on a short notice. Rather typical of her._

Aviar's thoughts became lost at the memory.

* * *

"We're moving!?" Aviar exclaimed.

The room he stood in was far more elaborately decorated than any ordinary house. Lamps illuminated the room, and the shelves were littered with books and items that could only be considered as arcane. No doubt, this was Aviar's old home.

A woman sat in a chair across from him, looking to be in her thirties. She sported blonde hair, and brown eyes shone from behind her glasses.

"You heard me," she replied. "We'll be heading out in a couple days."

"And…" Aviar struggled for words. "...why couldn't you tell me this earlier?"

The woman sighed, her face turning apologetic. "I'm sorry, but it recent news for me, too. I didn't know we'd be moving, either."

"Remind me. Why exactly are we moving?"

"Well…" the woman started. "...it'll be easier to explain once we get there. For now, let's just say it's work-related."

"Great," Aviar muttered. He fell silent, staring vacantly at the door to the room. The woman almost looked pained, and spoke up. "Are you okay, Aviar?"

"Seraph… I'm sure you already know, but this place means a lot to me," he said while gesturing to the door. "I grew up here, and everything's so special to me. Leaving everyone behind is gonna be difficult."

Seraph took off her glasses and chuckled, standing up from her chair. "Come here…" she said, pulling Aviar into an embrace. "This is my home, too, remember? You won't be the only one missing it. But, that doesn't mean it's going away forever."

They pulled apart and their eyes met. "We can always come back and visit. Just because we're moving doesn't mean we'll never see it again," she ensured, caressing Aviar's cheek.

"I... guess that's right," he acknowledged. He hugged Seraph again, and they broke apart fully. "Oh!" she exclaimed, remembering something. "If it helps, Shadow will be joining us."

"Really?" Aviar perked up. Seraph smirked at his reaction. "Hmm? You suddenly seem a lot more excited about it now."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he said with an eye roll. "At least she'll make it more bearable."

Seraph merely chuckled at Aviar's response, who shook his head. "Anyway, I told her earlier today, and she'll be joining us on the move."

"Sounds good," he responded with a shrug. Before Seraph could chime in, he asked one last question.

"Tell me, where are we moving to?"

* * *

Snapping out of the flashback, Aviar vigorously shook his head and ruffled his hair to clear his thoughts. "Well… better get to my morning routine," he said and walked out of his bedroom. Navigating to the upstairs bath, he began to undress to take a shower.

 _I found out that we were moving to Metroplex City, a population center in a country called Halo. For Mediums like us, moving into normal society was just unheard of._

 _Mediums. Simply put, Mediums are people who possess otherworldly abilities. No one really understands what makes us special, not even Mediums ourselves. Many years ago, normal people and Mediums coexisted peacefully. However, the simple that they were different drove many normal humans to fear them._

 _Mediums became the target of prejudice, persecution, and harsh treatment. People were ostracized, families were separated, and whole towns were burned. Eventually, they were driven out of normal society entirely. The remaining Medium populations set out and created sanctuaries isolated from human contact, and continued their practices to this day._

 _According to what Seraph told me, tensions have mostly faded since then, and the two are starting to communicate with each other again. While it isn't a huge rarity to find a human in a sanctuary or a Medium in normal lands, it's still uncommon._

Aviar turned off the shower water and opened the glass door. Grabbing a towel, he stepped outside and started drying himself off. "I just feel so out of place…" he muttered, wrapping the towel around his waist and walking back to his room. "Everything's so unfamiliar and strange."

His eyes drifted to outside his window, and he studied the modern-looking houses present in his neighborhood. Further out, he could he could see the skyscrapers towering above shorter buildings in the city. "Seraph wasn't kidding when she said it was matter of getting used to," he chuckled.

Looking down, he examined his open palm, letting out a small laugh. "I bet I'll fit right in. Not only do I look human, I can barely use my powers."

 _A Medium's powers are nebulous in nature. They are best described as being able to manipulate reality, but the way the powers manifest is unique to each Medium. We call this effect "filtering," since the raw ability to manipulate the universe is "filtered" through the Medium's soul. In that sense, no two Mediums are alike._

 _For example, one Medium might have powers over electricity, and another may have power over plants. When we figure out what our powers are, we're taught how to control them, and how to harness them in different ways._

 _Unless you're me. Because when you're me, you can barely conjure the smallest amount of power. Why? No one knows._

Aviar's thoughts turned to when he first summoned his powers.

* * *

A 12-year-old Aviar stood on a small grassy field, the ocean toiling and tumbling not far away, giving a wonderful view. He stood with a girl of the same age, blue-grey eyes sparkling underneath her copper bangs. Aviar's brown ones looked determined.

"Are you guys excited!?" Seraph exclaimed. "We're gonna see your powers for the first time!"

"Yeah!" the girl zealously agreed, launching a fist into the air.

Aviar shrugged. "I hope it works," was his answer.

"C'mon, Aviar! We've been talking about this for weeks, you need more energy than that!" the girl said to him.

The older woman chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm. "Shadow's certainly ready," she laughed. "Alright, you two. Let's get started."

Seraph formed a ball with her hands in front of her, and her students followed suite. "Remember what I taught you. Take a deep breath, clear your mind."

She inhaled through her nose, and exhaled through her mouth. Aviar and Shadow did the same.

"What do you want right now? Find that desire, and focus on it. Let it consume your senses and be all that you perceive. Nothing else matters right now, only this."

Her eyes slid shut, and the listeners eagerly kept watching.

"Picture what you want. Imagine it, visualize it, and yearn for it with all your heart. Believe with everything that your wish will come true. Do this, and your power will be summoned."

Aviar's and Shadow's eyes widened when they saw Seraph's hair waving, and they awed when a pulsating sphere of light conjured between her hands.

"That's so cool!" Shadow exclaimed, and Aviar laughed at the sight. The light sphere dissipated, and Seraph reopened her eyes.

"You guys ready?" she asked them.

Quickly agreeing, they assumed a similar stance that Seraph did, forming a ball with their hands and concentrating. After a minute of silence with no power manifesting, they looked disappointed.

"It's not working," Aviar frowned.

Seraph laughed. "Well, you can't expect it to work first try, can you? Here, let me help you."

Now with their mentor's assistance, the students continued to follow her directions, concentrating on manifesting their powers. Both turned out unsuccessful for some time, but remained diligent at their work. They heeded to Seraph's advice and counselling, being ushered to keep trying.

The tiniest dot of purple formed between Shadow's palms, and her eyes shot wide open at the sight.

"Don't lose it!" Seraph reminded. "Keep that image in your head, and desire it with your whole being."

Shadow's eyes closed shut, and the dot morphed and grew into a black-purple ball of wispy darkness. When she finally saw her handiwork, to say she looked pleased was simply an understatement.

Her orb dispersed into smoke, and she immediately fell into Seraph's embrace. "I did it!" she cried. "I did it, Seraph! I summoned my powers!"

"I know, and I'm so proud!" the teacher declared. Aviar applauded for his friend, evidently happy for her success and wearing a smile to prove it. Behind his eyes, however, one could see just the slightest wick of envy.

"Powers over shadow, huh?" Aviar commented as the two pulled apart.

"Looks like it," Seraph responded, looking back to him. "Makes me wonder about you."

"Yeah, now I want to see what _your_ powers are!" Shadow exclaimed, still giddy at the discovery of her abilities.

Aviar exhaled heavily at his friend's words. "Well… here goes."

Shutting his eyes, he assumed the same posture he was in. Expelling his breath, he wiped his mind clean of all thoughts, and focused purely on the space between his hands. He pictured his power materializing, and set his heart on that image.

His heart sank into that desire, and he concentrated with all his will for that to come to pass.

 _Nothing._

"Come on," he muttered, feeling disheartened. Pushing his intent even further, he tried to feel the energy in his hands and force it into the open air.

 _Nothing._

He gritted his teeth. This would be it. Pouring his entire body and soul into it, he perfectly visualized his wish, and pleaded for it to come to fruition. He yearned for his power to answer his call, and he put the entirety of his energy into materializing it in between his palms.

 _Nothing._

"Stop."

Seraph's touch jolted Aviar out of his trance. His eyes fell, and his hair shadowed his features from view. "Why isn't it working?" he quietly asked. "Do I not have powers?"

"Of course, you do… you just can't force it," she answered. "You're trying to grab hold of it and pull it out of you. Don't wrestle with it, just let it happen. Here…"

Seraph kneeled behind Aviar and cupped his hands in hers, guiding them back to the empty ball position. "Still your heart and relax," she whispered in his ear. "I'm right here, you have nothing to be afraid of."

Aviar exhaled through his mouth, and let his eyelids fall. Only Seraph's words penetrated his ears.

"Find the desire in your heart, and cling to it. Envision it in your head, and let it become all you can see. The world doesn't matter, only this does. Believe with all your will that it will come to pass, and your powers will be made manifest."

A little speck of energy conjured in Aviar's hands, and it grew to the size of his palms. Opening his eyes, Aviar gasped at the sight of it. A dark blue orb of nebulous, cloud-like energy swirled in the empty space between his hands, sparkling with a little lightning.

When he couldn't contain his focus, the globe collapsed back into nothing, but it was enough for him. For the first time, tears of joy welled up in his brown eyes.

* * *

 _Not even Seraph knows why I have so much trouble with my abilities. Four years of practice later, I'm still struggling to summon them consistently while Shadow continued to be adept with her own. Just got the short end of the stick, I guess._

Snapping out of his daydreaming, Aviar remembered that he needed to get dressed. He reached for the clothes he prepared earlier, and speedily put them on. "Eating breakfast is probably better than reminiscing," he chuckled.

Aviar walked down the stairs of the empty house and navigated to the kitchen, where he found the breakfast that the note spoke of. Pulling the lid off the pan, he saw what he would be eating: eggs cooked with broccoli and ham.

"Eh, could be worse," Aviar remarked.

He scooped a portion of the food into a plate and grabbed a glass of water, and ate by himself at the table. "I still don't understand why Seraph brought us here," he mumbled before taking another bite.

 _What exactly would Mediums be doing in a city like this?_

No matter how many different approaches he tried, he couldn't think of an answer to that mysterious question.

"Leave it to Seraph to do the unimaginable," he concluded and took his plate to the sink, where he rinsed it and placed it in the dishwasher.

"An appliance that washes your dishes for you…" he marveled at the unfamiliar tech. "Now that's something I can get behind."

Chuckling at his own joke, he took the pan off the stove and threw it into the refrigerator. He held a recently prepared slice of toast in his mouth and checked his phone. _9:00_ he thought. Turning his head, he looked outside a nearby window.

 _It'll be a while until Seraph and Shadow get back… so what am I going to do until then?_

Weighing out his options, he took a bite of the toast and chewed it. _I think I'll walk around a few city blocks, get myself familiar with the area. Not much harm in doing that, I suppose._

* * *

"Just how many people are there?" Aviar thought out loud. To someone unfamiliar with it, the sight of the city was certainly intimidating. Towering structures loomed over him, and crowds of people walked by on the sidewalks. It was completely unlike his closely-knit and sparsely populated homeland.

"Is all of normal society like this?" he continued to wonder, gazing around at the different buildings, shops, and restaurants. _I guess it does suit a much larger sum of people, with all the shops and whatnot._

Aviar continued to maneuver around the people coming his way, and tried not feel smothered by the closely-packed buildings. He noticed a car trying to inch forward in the street, letting the people in front separate and give it room to move. _Hey, Seraph told me about those. It's cool to see how technology has advanced here, I'll give it that._

The teenager broke out of the dense pathway and found himself on the sidewalk of a much wider street, with more cars zooming by. He liked the breeze that blew through, and the less cramped walkway also pleased him. "Maybe this place isn't so bad, after all."

 **[WARNING! THERE HAS BEEN ROGUE ACTIVITY DETECTED IN THE NEARBY VICINITY! PLEASE EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY! I REPEAT!]**

 _I spoke too soon..._

The warning message blared from various alarms stationed on the buildings, and Aviar watched as pedestrians bolted away from the area in a surprisingly manner, or hurried to their cars and sped away. He simply stood, dumbfounded by the series of events that took place.

"Uhh… what just happened?" was all that came out of his mouth. His street had been completely vacated, and he stood awkwardly while the alarms continued to broadcast their message. The confused teenager pulled out his phone and opened up the map he set for himself.

"Well… if the alarm is anything to go by, I should probably get out of here…" he noted and jogged down the street, following the directions to his house from the map on his phone.

As Aviar turned the corner and sprinted down the road, questions flooded through his mind. _What was that all about? Why did everyone leave in such a hurry? What was the 'rogue activity' the alarm mentioned? I don't get it…_

He made another turn and dashed along the new streetway. _Alright, nearly there… just gotta_ "What the—!?"

A blinding light flashed only a few blocks down, and a colossal purple sphere materialized. It launched huge gusts of wind down the pathways, knocking Aviar a few feet backward. The phenomena expanded outward, destroying all it touched and rendered the nearby buildings to rubble.

"Aaugh…" Aviar grunted, crawling to his knees. "...what in the ever-living _hell_ was that?"

Dusting himself off, he shakily rose to his feet and looked back down the road. Dangerously close to him, the road depressed into a sizable crater filled with mangled piles of asphalt and concrete. The neighboring structures barely stood, if at all.

 _I would've been caught in that if I was any closer!_

Aviar's face paled at the sight, having never seen such destruction before. "I don't like this city anymore…"

Walking up to the raised edges of the crater, he got a better look inside. There wasn't much to see, just the mark of destruction caused by whatever that weird purple thing was. "Doesn't look like anyone got hurt. That's good," he observed, noticing the lack of people in the area.

 _I should probably get back home_ Aviar thought, still barely able to comprehend the sight. _Before another one appears… wait, who's that?_

Someone descended into the epicenter of the crater. The figure appeared to be a teenage girl with long flame-colored hair cascading down her back. More interestingly, she appeared to wear an ornate and brightly-colored suit of armor, standing out against the grey backdrop.

Aviar eyes enlarged at the sight, recognizing the strange attire.

 _That girl… is she a Medium!?_

Almost as if the girl heard his thoughts, her head rotated to look in Aviar's direction. His eyes met her fire-colored ones, and even at a distance he couldn't sense a single bit of amiability in them.

 _Oh crap…_

At the sight of him, the girl thrusted her arm to the side. A thin stream of fire burst from the ground beside her, and it solidified into a sword shape. Gripping the newly-formed handle, she heaved it out of the ground and leapt toward Aviar with frightening speed.

Without any time to think, he stumbled backward before the girl appeared in front of him. He gasped when a sword was thrust at him, only stopping inches away from his neck. At first, he noticed the weapon's composition, seemingly comprised of orange flame that danced a little in the breeze. Then, his eyes were drawn to its wielder.

If the sword wasn't stunning enough, then its master certainly was. Her wild red-orange hair appeared even more glamorous up close, and her matching eyes also flickered like flame. Now that she stood right in front of him, Aviar could more easily identify her outfit.

She was wearing an armor-plated corset with accompanying gauntlets that went up to her elbows. Her shorts were covered with an armored skirt that went to her knees and split into three coattails, but didn't cover her front. Finally, she wore thigh-high armored boots that stopped a few inches below her shorts.

All the armor pieces were colored in the brilliant shades of fire, with her chestplate being cream-colored and shorts charcoal with some cream highlights. Aviar confirmed the attire as a Medium's magically-conjured armor, but he really couldn't admire it, considering the circumstances.

Gritting his teeth, he drew his head back as he felt the sword inch closer. Adrenaline shot through his system, yet every nerve in his body completely froze. His eyes stared forward into hers, completely unsure on how to react, and painfully aware of how defenseless he was.

Her eyes remained cold and unchanging. Not emotionless, but distant, and concealing something underneath. Aviar was sure of that. She parted her lips, and in a gruff voice, asked one very simple question.

"Who are you, human?"

* * *

 **I told you this story was OC-focused.**

 **Now, don't you worry, this story is definitely connected to Date a Live. How? Why, that's all part of the mystery. It'd be a shame if I gave it away immediately :P. Although, I was nice enough to give you a little clue in the beginning. Make of that what you will.**

 **I don't think I'll be doing these author's notes for every chapter. Only when I deem it necessary. That being said, I hope you guys enjoyed, and be sure to tell me your thoughts. I'll see you in the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Who are you, human?"

If her actions weren't enough, the growl in the girl's voice conveyed her disdain. Despite the rather distracting sight of a flaming sword pointed at him, Aviar found himself staring into the eyes of the armor-clad girl. They were narrowed, hard, and burning with irritation, but something else lied beyond the flame-colored irises. Something he identified as a wall, a mask concealing her true emotions.

Nevertheless, other priorities occupied his mind once he remembered his situation, specifically the mystical weapon being held at his neck. Even though the sight of a girl sporting armor and holding a magically-conjured blade was familiar, it kept his muscles paralyzed and joints locked up. His breath grew shaky and ragged, heart rate soaring to newfound heights.

Anything is scary if it threatens your life.

Aviar tried to force words through his dry mouth, but they instead sounded like pained chokes through his clenched teeth. His mind raced with a million thoughts and fleeting questions, unable to think of anything to say even if he could speak. Her glare easily overpowered his widened gaze, and he felt completely at the mercy of the girl in front of him.

Her brow furrowed, and she raised her flaming sword into the air. Aviar's eyes squeezed shut and his body tensed as the weapon swung downward. He could feel the heat of blade narrowly miss and cut right by his face. Moments after, the shockwave of an explosion cracked through the air, fierce winds rushing past them and coating the two in the dust of the collapsed building behind them.

Reopening his eyes, he saw the girl point the sword at him again, eyes burning with even more fury. "If you value your life, then you'll answer my question," she spat, her lips morphing into a scowl. "Who are you, human?"

The attack broke Aviar free of his frozen state, feeling returning to his muscles and joints loosening. He threw his arm forward in protest, pupils sufficiently narrowed. "Wait! Just wait a minute!" he cried. "My name's Aviar Dinistro! You don't need to attack me!"

The girl remained silent, but something shifted in her eyes when she heard his response. She lowered her weapon, no longer holding it Aviar's neck, but keeping a firm grip on the handle. "Very well, Aviar," she replied, still staring him down with a deadly gaze. "Why did you come here?"

Her eyes shrank into slants. "Have you come to kill me, as well?"

Aviar's face froze in place, mouth agape and eyebrows raised. _Kill… you...?_ his mind echoed, completely unable to comprehend the question. In what world is the defenseless boy the one who kills the armor-clad girl wielding a sword that's made of fire? This one, apparently. "Hold on, that's not why I'm here!" he hastily declared.

Aviar's words failed to placate her, and her furrowed brows remained. "All you humans have ever done is tried to kill me. Why would you be any different?"

"I…"

Before either of them could react any further, their heads were drawn to the sounds of multiple jet engines that echoed in the air. A bunch of black dots lined the sky, steadily growing larger as they approached the two of them. When they were close enough to be identified as human figures, they unleashed a barrage of gunfire right onto the girl, sounding similar rain on a tin roof. Very loud rain on a tin roof.

Aviar stumbled backward, landing on his rear as attempted to avoid it. The girl merely extended her free hand forward, and a wall of flames burst from the ground in front of her, absorbing the storm of bullets. "They never learn…" she remarked. Dropping the flame wall, she swung her sword and launched a wave at the flying figures, who parted to avoid it.

They turned out to be people wearing what looked to be black hi-tech mechanical suits, the yellow glow of their winged attachments flaring out from behind them. "Team!" a male voice yelled from the front most soldier. "Deploy all weapons and fire everything you got! Let's take out Cataclysm right here, right now!"

The compartments on all their suits opened, and unleashed a hellfire barrage of missiles, artillery shells, bullets, and other explosive ordnance at the girl they called 'Cataclysm.' She leapt into the air and swung the flaming blade, sending a fire wave into the missiles. They detonated and caused a chain reaction of explosions that brilliantly lit up the sky, blowing up the entire assault.

Aviar scrambled to the elevated edges of the crater, taking shelter by the piled concrete and shyly watching the spectacle. _She is a Medium, alright,_ he concluded. _But why are they attacking her? Is this why she thought I was going to kill her?_

Landing in the crater, Cataclysm conjured a fireball in her hand and hurled it at the flying soldiers, splitting into a hail of smaller ones. "Evasive maneuvers!" the leader shouted, and the troops scattered as the onslaught of fireballs exploded around them, sending them into disarray and even dropping a few out of the sky.

The leader groaned as he stood on the pile of rubble he landed on, one of his jetpack exhausts smoking and sparking. "Firefly 1!" he yelled as his fellow grounded soldiers started to rise. "Get your ass down here and show that Rogue what you got! Airborne troops, give her support while the rest of us get out of the danger zone!"

From inside the crater, Cataclysm turned her head toward the shouting man and launched a fireball at him. Right before it collided with him, something cut through the projectile, causing it to explode in a pulse of fire. Once the smoke cleared, the interceptor was made manifest: someone wearing a similar battle suit and wielding a green energy blade, a mass of blonde hair sprouting out from the back of their helmet.

Kickstarting their jetpack, Firefly 1 sped into the crater and swung at Cataclysm, who deflected the strike with her own weapon. "You again…" she hissed at the figure, who dropped to the ground. "Come back for more?"

"This time, it'll end with you dead!" the soldier proclaimed, turning out to be female. The Medium deflected the laser sword, and sparks flew as they exchanged blows. Cataclysm's meaty swings were easily parried by Firefly 1's handling of the saber, the glowing light leaving a trail as it sped through the air. The soldier ducked under a swing and swept her opponent's leg. With a flurry of cuts and a rising slash, she sent the Medium flying backward.

The flying troops opened fire, sending a rain of bullets and a few missiles at Cataclysm. A fire barrier rose to block the assault, and she dashed at Firefly 1 with a sweeping slash. Flying away from the swing, the soldier fired a grappling hook at the Medium and rocketed toward her, kicking her to the ground.

Firefly 1 gripped Cataclysm by the throat and pounded her into the ground. She soared around the battle arena, dragging the Medium through piles of broken concrete and asphalt. Flying into the air, she hurled her opponent back into the ground. She reactivated her laser blade, letting out a scream as she descended upon Cataclysm, about to plunge the sword into her chest.

The tip of the saber collided into a dense fire barrier, barely managing to hold as the blade tried to force through it. The energy swirled around the contact point, and burst into a small explosion that flung Firefly 1 away. Cataclysm climbed to her feet, hair a complete mess, and using her weapon as a support. She glared at the soldier who hovered above the ground, panting through gritted teeth.

Cataclysm picked up the flaming sword, and swung it diagonally in front of her. Flames plumed outward from her feet, and she burned with newfound vigor. More gunfire and missiles zoomed toward her, exploding at the fire wall that rose to protect her. The soldier equipped a handgun in her offhand, and raced toward the Medium.

With their ally nearby, the airborne assault ceased, and Firefly 1 took a swing at her opponent. She deflected, but a shot in the chest caused her to stumble backward. The soldier continued to twirl the laser sword, catching Cataclysm's swings while mixing in gunshots and breaking her guard. Unable to keep up with the soldier's strikes, Cataclysm was pummeled with a full combo of swings and shots. She was flung away, and her flaming sword dissipated when she lost grip on it.

Cataclysm lied still on the ground, her armor chipped away at various pieces with a large crack in her breastplate. A trickle of blood ran down her face, curving away from her shut eyes. Firefly 1 chuckled sinisterly and sheathed her weapons. She tapped the side of her helmet, and spoke. "Cataclysm won't be getting up. At least not anytime soon. Let's scratch her off the list and we'll… wait… never mind, she's not down."

Firefly 1 directed her attention back at the Medium, who had risen to her feet. Flames encircled her, and her long hair billowed in the air currents that were created. Cataclysm motioned her arm, the circling flames burst outward into a pulse, her armor also repairing itself. Her figure bristled with newfound vigor, her face almost appearing to glow. "Hmph," she regarded, conjuring a ball of flame in a clawed hand, spilling with lava-like liquid fire. "I guess you caught me off guard."

The soldier grumbled. "Give me a minute," she uttered. She swung her arm in a diagonal arc, and the green laser blade rematerialized in her hand. Dashing to her opponent, she unleashed a flurry of slashes that deflected off the fire barrier that rose in front of her. Cataclysm thrust her arm forward, grasping Firefly 1 by the chest. Rising her into the air, the Medium's entire arm became coated in the liquid fire, and it erupted into a fiery explosion.

Firefly 1 and her weapon were flung away by the blast, the surrounding floor becoming covered with splotches of liquid fire. Crawling to her knees, the soldier's entire suit sparked with green electricity, and a growl filtered through her mouthpiece. "You damned monster…" she snarled.

Cataclysm responded by plunging her hand into the ground. Vibrations shook through the ground like an earthquake, emitting a distinct rumbling sound and displacing loose rubble. Glowing orange circles emerged all over the battlefield, inciting Firefly 1 to speak into her helmet. "Everyone! Retreat!" she called, taking to the skies.

Aviar watched as all the assortments of random smoldering spots burst into geysers of lava and stone, causing a massive chain of smaller explosions across the crater, launching fire and rubble in every direction. Face rendered completely pale, teeth clenched, and eyes stapled wide open, he could only watch as the disaster encroached upon him. A massive fireball formed at the epicenter, and it swelled outward, threatening to consume all it met. Including Aviar.

Black flashed across his vision, and all consciousness faded away.

* * *

Fleeting awareness swirled around Aviar's mind, drifting in and out like the shore's tides, and hanging on the thin edge of wakefulness and sleep. His sight, or what he thought was his sight, only presented a formless mass of white, as if a flashlight was shining in his eyes. Attempting to look around, he flexed his neck to examine the surroundings, if they could be called that.

Just the white background, and nothing else. Even his own body vanished amongst the blankness. He could hardly feel his limbs, or what direction he was facing.

"Where am I?" his voice called out into the void, materializing more from his thoughts than any movement of his mouth.

 _ **Greetings. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.**_

That voice easily penetrated through the misty blankness of the realm, like a foreign thought invading Aviar's mind. It echoed over itself, reverberating with a metallic shroud, but still sounded like it belonged to someone. A pair of dark ellipses formed in the white void. They gave off the appearance of eyes, like staring into the empty sockets of a mask, or skull.

 _Who are you?_ Aviar thought, no longer making the effort to speak.

 _ **Who I am is irrelevant. Allow me to ask a more compelling question: what is your name?**_

 _My name?_ Aviar echoed. To him, the voice's inquiry felt strange. It didn't sound like a greeting or friendly small-talk, but rather a fundamental questioning of his own sense of self. His attempts to dart his eyes away failed, since the black ovals stared back into him no matter where he looked. With an air of hesitation, he answered the question. _My name is Aviar. Aviar Dinistro._

 _ **Yes, you would believe that. However, I don't think your alias is suggestive of your identity. Don't you agree?**_

If Aviar's face could be seen, then it would've been gawking at the disembodied voice. Its implication was not at all unfamiliar to him. Rather, it was a road he traveled down many times before. Aviar knew that his name was an empty title, just a label to be referred by. Pondering it, wondering about his origin and true name… it reminded him of…

No. He refused to remember it. It was best to keep that buried. Unearthing it would only cause more pain, he was certain of it. _How do you know that?_ he demanded, feeling as if his private space had been invaded.

 _ **Have you ever wondered that, Aviar? Who you really are? Where you came from and why you exist? Why you were different? Above all, what your purpose is here?**_

True. All of it was true. This voice created a knife composed of all his deepest desires and cut him open with it, shedding light on all he kept buried. It was there. That… terrible blackness. He could sense it encroaching upon him, reaching out with its many limbs, ready to pull him into the emptiness. The feelings coursed through him, the awful feelings stemming from the void in his soul. Powerless, worthless, without meaning, without home, without purpose...

Dammit! Make it stop!

His will was broken, any and all opposition gone. He surrendered himself, no longer caring who or what this voice was. If it knew anything about him, that would suffice. Aviar gazed into the black ovals, viewing them as his savior, the light at the end of tunnel. A spark of hope was restored, and that abyss began to shrink away.

 _Who… am I?_ Aviar asked once his thoughts cleared enough to form a sentence. It resembled a cry for help more than a proper question.

 _ **I'll leave you with a clue. Shido. Remember that name, and you'll be on your way to figuring out who you are.**_

 _Wait—!_

Before Aviar could protest any further, the eye sockets disappeared, and the world dissolved away into nothingness. His little awareness slipped away, and he was dragged into the pit of his own subconscious, as if something forced him into slumber.

* * *

 _The sunset spilled over the horizon, shining beams of soft orange light over the landscape. A gentle breeze kicked up, blowing chilly winds through the air and rustling the leaves of nearby trees. A ledge provided a nice viewpoint, overlooking the city it was raised above. A girl stood on the walkway, looking beyond the guardrail and staring out at the tiny clustered buildings, her eyes distant and thoughtful. She clutched a large stuffed toy resembling a loaf of bread._

" _So, listen…" the girl began, turning away from the scenery. "I've been thinking, and it's better that I don't exist at all."_

 _Aviar marveled at the girl, unable to do anything else. Unexplainable waves of recollection coursed through him, even though nothing reigned familiar. The surroundings felt like his home, like he'd been there all his life, but he couldn't recognize a thing. Gazing at the girl, he swore he never saw her before, but his heart burned with remembrance. He knew for a fact that this never happened to him, but everything screamed at him that it did._

" _Don't say that!" he demanded. His voice sounded odd, foreign, like it wasn't his own. Despite that, he already knew what he was going to say, like a nagging thought in the back of his mind. It was like looking back on a memory._

" _We're fine! There was no spatial quake today, was there? You didn't ruin anything!"_

 _The girl tightened her grip on the stuffed bread. "Yes, but… that doesn't mean there won't be one the next time I appear. Once I go back and fall asleep, I won't be able to control myself."_

 _Her voice. He liked the sound of her voice, but her words irked him. It irritated him to see her like this, and he desired to change that. He wanted to see her smile, but he didn't know why. Was it even his desire?_

" _Fine, then I guess you just can't go back!"_

 _She gasped._

" _Have you even tried? Just once. Just try staying here!" he continued._

" _Even if I did, there are so many things I don't know about this world."_

" _I'll teach you whatever you don't know," he assured._

 _The wind grew stronger, and started to billow her skirt and long plum hair. "Then, I'd need food and a place to sleep. What if something happens we're not prepared for?"_

" _I'm going to take care of you. If something comes up that we need to deal with, we'll deal with it."_

" _Are you sure?" she asked, her tone dropping. "Am I even allowed to be here? Is it okay for me to be alive in this world?"_

 _Aviar already knew the answer. "Yes. It is."_

" _You're the only one would say that to me," she stated. "Humans like them… they don't want to risk it. They don't want something as dangerous as me nearby."_

 _Aviar's teeth grinded against each other. He didn't understand the passion fueling him, or why he cared so much for this unfamiliar girl. He never felt so disconnected from himself, like he was inhabiting a different body from his own. Nothing was identifiable, but everything remembered him. He even questioned if the emotion that rushed through him was truly his own._

" _I don't care about them!" he shouted. "I don't care how many people reject you. That doesn't change the fact that I accept you, and I don't want you to leave! Even if the whole world rejects you, I'll just accept you even more!"_

 _The girl could only stare at him, unable to form any more words. He reached his palm toward her. "Take my hand," he ordered. "That's the only job you have right now."_

 _Her expression softened, and a smile started to curve on her lips. Her eyes grew shiny, glossy, welling with happiness. She reached one of her hands toward his, and the joy on her face made him complete, almost accomplished._

 _As if he knew what was to come, his eyes shifted to the background of the scene, over to the overhangs of the nearby hills. He noticed a small, discreet flash of light from the distance. A muzzle flash._

" _Tohka!"_

 _Without having a say in the matter, his entire body lurched forward in a spring-like action, shoving the girl away. Almost instantaneously afterward, an unnatural force propelled him back. It punched straight through him, cleaving a massive, searing hole in his torso. His body collided with the ground, a gaping void present in his breast. However, the untold pain didn't feel real or genuine, like he was looking at it in hindsight._

 _The world collapsed as Aviar's consciousness was violently ejected from it._

* * *

"Huah!"

Aviar's entire body jolted into sitting position, heaving air in and out of his lungs, and adrenaline pumping through his system. His hands ran all over chest, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he found that his torso was still intact. The adrenaline wore off, and his heart rate slowed. With the danger assessed, he took some time to look around, finding himself in his new bedroom. "Hehe…" he chuckled. "Just a dream."

He fell back into his bed, staring up at the blank ceiling. His body sank into the mattress, and all his stress left him. _Man, that was weird. Talking to that girl felt so odd, like it was extreme Deja vu. Then there was that voice who seemed to know me… talk about strange._

Aviar's mind continued to wander in the memory of the black eye sockets and purple-haired girl. As he turned his head, he noticed the alarm clock resting on the nearby desk, displaying in large red numbers "2:00 PM."

 _Wait, it's two?!_ he thought as he squinted at the time. Sure enough, the numbers stayed the same no matter how he adjusted his eyes. _Did I really sleep for that long? No, Shadow would have dragged me out long before then. So… why is it…_

Like an epiphany, the answer struck him. His memories of the events that occurred earlier that day flooded through his mind like an opened dam. _That's right!_ he mentally declared. _I remember. I met that Medium girl in the crater, and then she got attacked by those flying people._

At the thought, Aviar gazed at his surroundings, taking note that he was lying down in the comfort of his bedroom. _Did I go unconscious?_ he wondered. He rested his head on the pillow, letting out a sigh. _Last thing I remember was that chick fight, so I must have. So, how did I get back home? Did Seraph find me?_

Aviar settled on that conclusion for a moment, but it spurred a new train of thought. _If Seraph took me here, then that means she's home. If Seraph's home, then Shadow will be home, too. And if Shadow's home and I'm asleep, that means…_

The door to Aviar's room uttered a low creak as it opened. His pupils narrowed, and a cold sweat overtook him, very familiar with what that sound signaled.

 _Please have mercy._

"Rise and shine!" a vivacious voice chanted, its owner leaping onto Aviar's bed. They twirled their feet on top of him, hopping across his different limbs and dancing on his torso. Nerve endings from all over his body fired, convulsing away at every sensation that struck him. His body bent and contorted in many different angles to avoid the assault. "Ack! Hey, ha ha! Stahp!" he chortled, writhing away from all the prodding underneath the covers.

His plea fell on deaf ears, and the merciless attack continued. Aviar giggled uncontrollably at all of his ticklish nerves being stimulated, which unfortunately encompassed most of him. In a final movement, Aviar jerked away and sprung into a sitting position, swatting away at the assailant. "I'm awake! I'm awake, stop it!"

The aggressor stopped their attack, and Aviar was able to get a clear look at them while he caught his breath. They were bent over in laughter, but still clearly recognizable. A girl of similar age to him stood on his bed, wearing pants and a black t-shirt. "Gahahaha! I swear, that will _never_ get old!" she declared, her laughter ceasing.

"Hi, Shadow..." Aviar responded wearily. "Glad to see you're back to our usual routine."

With her composure regained, Shadow brushed aside her shoulder-length copper hair and reopened her eyes. Her lips curved into a smug smile as she looked down at him, glints of mischief sparkling from her blue-grey eyes. "Of course! I wouldn't let you off the hook that easily," she declared, nudging him with a foot to emphasize her point.

Aviar rolled his eyes at her. "I was already awake. You didn't have to do that."

"But it's so fun to make you squirm!" Shadow chuckled. "It's what I look forward to whenever you sleep in."

He let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead at her comment. _At least one of us is enjoying ourselves_ he thought. "Anyway…" Aviar began, turning his gaze back to his friend. "Do you mind telling me what happened?"

Shadow looked upward while tapping a finger on her chin. "Well, Seraph and I found you unconscious at the crater, so we took you home and let you get your beauty sleep. There wasn't much to miss, really." She twirled her feet as she jumped off Aviar's bed, causing him to twitch away.

Aviar pulled the covers off of him and rose to his feet, not bothering to question the plaid pajama pants or how he got into him. He yawned and stretched, achy pains biting into his limbs, probably from being launched onto asphalt. "You feeling alright?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah, just tired and sore," he answered. "Crazy dreams haven't been helping much."

Both exited the bedroom, and hovered at the top of the stairs immediately to the right. "What a coincidence!" Shadow proclaimed, smile spread across her mouth. "I had a pretty weird dream last night, too."

"You did?"

"Yeah. There was this redhead in a burning town, and she was all huddled up and calling out for her brother… I think, I dunno." Shadow's eyes lit up as her mouth stretched into a grin. "Hey, think the universe is trying to tell us something?"

Aviar scoffed while shaking his head. "Probably not."

His friend laughed in response to his immediate dismissal. "I was just teasing you," she said while gently punching his shoulder. "Let's go downstairs. Seraph's waiting on us."

The teen sighed as he watched Shadow race down the stairs. As he started to descend them, he could hear her distant voice coming from the dining room. "Guess who's awake?" she announced as Aviar emerged from the stairwell.

"No thanks to you," he retorted.

A new figure was already sitting at the table, a woman in her 30s. She had long multi-shaded blonde hair tied up into a long ponytail, cascading down her white tank top and ending at her brown shorts. She dragged her fingers across an electronic tablet lying the table. A mug sat by the tablet, steaming rising from the brown liquid it contained. Upon Shadow's announcement, she looked over at Aviar, smiling at him through her glasses.

"Hey Seraph," he said, feeling relaxed at the warmth of her expression.

"Good morning, Aviar," she chuckled, taking her fingers off the tablet. "Happy to see you're doing alright."

Shadow strolled over to the table, lowering herself into a chair by Seraph. The woman in question jerked her head toward the chair across from her. "Why don't you take a seat and come join us?" she invited. Aviar obliged, heading to and sitting down in the open chair perpendicular to her.

Seraph reached underneath the table and tossed a folder in Aviar's direction. She raised her mug to her lips as Aviar took it. It was fairly large, and had "YGGDRASIL" printed across the top. His finger ran along the edge and flipped the folder open, revealing an aerial photograph. His eyes narrowed at the content, reigning very familiar to him. It was the girl coated in flames, clad in vibrant armor.

"Hey, that's the girl from earlier," Aviar stated, looking up from the picture.

"She's what we call a Rogue Medium. Or Rogue for short," Seraph explained, lowering the coffee mug from her mouth. "We only know two things about them. One, they are incredibly volatile and destructive, far more powerful than your average Medium."

 _So, she wasn't a Medium_ he thought, recalling the display of her abilities that led him to the initial conclusion. "And two?"

"We don't have a clue where they come from or why they exist," Shadow answered, folding her arms across her chest. "They just pop up out of nowhere without any rhyme or reason, and when they do, a lot of explosions tend to happen. People don't like them very much."

"Does she already know all this?" he asked, pointing a finger at Shadow.

"Yep," she answered. "Seraph filled me in on everything while you were out cold. Think you're the only one who's been having a weird day? Think again."

"Hmm..." he mused, thinking back to the encounter. The mention of 'explosions' jogged his memory. He recalled following the GPS on his phone, and dashing down the road only for the white flash to occur, the massive purple sphere expanding outward and knocking him off of his feet. "Wait, are you saying the blast that created the crater happens when one of these Rogues shows up?"

"No, not quite," Seraph immediately dismissed while waving a hand. " _That_ explosion is a complete mystery. It's got everyone's heads spinning, but some people have been throwing around the term 'spacequake.'"

"Do you think a Rogue caused it?"

"Possibly, but we simply don't know enough right now. I wouldn't worry about it."

"If you say so," Aviar yielded. Taking his hand, he slid the photograph away to reveal another one underneath. This one depicted a team of people flying in formation, all wearing identical battle suits in a black color scheme. His eyes widened when his memory suddenly clicked, reminding him that they were the soldiers that arrived at the crater. Particularly, he recognized the one with blonde hair spilling out the back of their helmet.

"Hey, I remember her," he said, tapping a finger on the soldier. "She was the one who fought the Rogue at the crater."

"You're not wrong," Shadow replied.

"These are the Firefly Troops, a special forces group serving under the Helfarke Division of Halo's military," Seraph described. "Whenever a Rogue is located, they are dispatched and fly to the location to deal with the issue."

Aviar raised an eyebrow, slowly lifting his head to meet her brown eyes. "You mean they kill them?"

Seraph remained silent, reaching to grab her cup and sip her coffee. Shadow didn't respond either. Aviar's mind jumped back to the girl, vividly recalling her face and the displeasure in her flame-colored eyes. _"Have you come to kill me, as well?"_ her voice echoed.

He marveled at the new information that had just been dumped on him, taking ample time to let it soak in. His thoughts ran wild about these Rogues, imagining what their scenario must be like. To be suddenly born into the world without an explanation. The girl appeared in his mind again. _"Who are you, human?"_

Her tone sounded so accusatory, acting as if he had wronged her in some unknown way. However, with the way she handled the word, it sounded as if she didn't truly comprehend its meaning. She didn't know who or what she was, and how little danger Aviar posed in comparison. She was scared, lashing out at a world she didn't understand. He hated it. He despised that feeling: the lack of understanding or purpose. Merely thinking about it turned his stomach, let alone imagining someone else having to experience it.

"Although, there is another way to take care of these Rogues without killing them," Seraph declared. Aviar's head snapped upward, his train of thought derailed at the sudden announcement. Shadow's pensive mood was also broken, and her trademark smile returned, like she knew what was to come. "And how do we do that?" Aviar asked.

"Glad you asked," Seraph grinned. She reached into a pocket on her shorts, and pulled out what looked to be a circular emblem. After Seraph placed it in front of him, Aviar picked up the badge, made of a thin and lightweight metal. It displayed an image of an ornately-drawn tree, with numerous twisting branches. Underneath it, the roots formed similar patterns, and completed the full circle shape of the engraving. "Welcome to Yggdrasil."

"Yig-say what now?" Aviar parroted, looking up from the metal etching.

"We're an organization that works to assist Mediums. Specifically, those in human territory," Seraph elaborated, still wearing her smile. "I happen to be a member."

"A high-ranking one at that," Shadow added.

Aviar remained silent for a few moments, drawing in a breath and releasing it, clearly trying to process the reveal. "You said the move was work-related," he said. "Is this the… expanded explanation?"

"It is, indeed. My superiors have assigned me to Metroplex City, and now it's my job to help the Rogues that show up here," Seraph responded. "After all, they are still Mediums, even with all their quirks. You _do_ want to help them, correct?"

Aviar didn't answer immediately, but nodded to communicate his feelings. "Yes," he declared, looking up with newfound energy burning in his brown eyes. "It's horrible. To just show up on this world with nobody to turn to? No one should have to experience that."

His eyes turned to Shadow, who was snickering behind her hand. He raised an eyebrow at her poorly-contained amusement. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing," she replied, dropping her hand and revealing her grinning mouth. "It's just so funny to see you all serious like that."

"Whatever," Aviar dismissed, rolling his eyes at his friend's antics.

"Anyway, I'm glad to hear that you're supportive of our efforts," Seraph said.

"No problem," he answered. Extending his arm toward her, Aviar offered the tree-engraved emblem back to her.

"It's yours, actually," Seraph informed him, earning a confused glance from the teenager she addressed.

"Mine?"

The older woman leaned back in her chair and folded her arms, a half smile forming on one side of her mouth. "Yep. That is your official badge. The reason why I was so happy to hear your approval was because I already planned for you to be assisting me on this mission. Your agreement just makes things a lot easier on me."

Aviar eyed her suspiciously, remaining silent as he studied her face. Seraph's expression didn't waver, and she gladly held eye contact with him as he did his examining. "So… I don't really have a choice in the matter?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Shadow affirmed, lacing her fingers together and resting her chin on them. He eyed her closely, staring into her silvery-blue eyes as she merely smirked at him. It was written all over her face. She already knew what was coming, and she was very much anticipated to see his reaction. That kind of cheeky look spelt disaster on Aviar's end, but he didn't feel the same uneasiness as he normally did. Perhaps it would be fun for him, too.

He stared down at the emblem he held between his fingers, spinning it around and running his thumb over the intricate tree engraving, taking note of all the different notches and trenches. Somewhere deep inside of him, sparks of excitement fluttered into view, and his worries seemed to dissolve away. In some way, he felt thrilled at the turn of events, and he wondered what was to come.

"Welcome to Yggdrasil, Aviar."


	3. Chapter 3

**HAH! I bet you thought I was dead, didn't you? You thought wrong! Yep, this story ain't dying anytime soon, so don't worry if it isn't updated in a small eternity. Although, I will try to upload the next chapter in a much shorter time frame. Ideally, something shorter than three months.**

 **Anyway, I wanted to bring an important detail to notice. I'm not a fan of retcons, and I will refrain from them as best as I can, but there is a minor retcon in this chapter. In Chapter 1, I said the story took place in April, but I moved it up to October. I'll change the first chapter to match the detail shortly after this chapter goes up.**

 **As a final note, I'd like to give my special thanks to _Tohka Yatogami_ for helping me with the weapon names. Her stories are amazing, and I highly recommend you check her out. Without further ado, onto the story!**

* * *

The morning rays of sunshine creeped up and over the horizon, spilling through an exposed window in Aviar's bedroom. It appeared well-maintained, probably from lack of use, and most of the boxes were unpacked. His bed was not flawless, but still looked like some effort was put into its making. Several articles of unfamiliar clothing were laid across it, neatly folded into an organized grid. Aviar stared down at the bed, letting out a sigh before turning his eyes to the wall. A calendar was hanging off it, turned to the October page with the 15th circled in red marker.

 _Today's the day…_ he thought.

* * *

 _Aviar was sitting at the dining room table, facing Seraph and Shadow on the other side. With the circular tree emblem still between his fingers, he slipped it into the comfy home of his pajama pocket. "So, while we wait for a Rogue to pop up, what are we gonna do?" he asked, prompting Seraph to swipe away at her tablet._

" _Resume life as normal," she answered with a shrug, as if the answer was obvious. "You and Shadow will go to school, and I'll pull you out whenever duty calls."_

" _Wait a minute, school?" Aviar repeated, raising an eyebrow at the woman's words. He used to an arm to gesture to the window behind him. "In human territory?"_

 _Seraph merely chuckled at his comment, shaking her head. "Stop worrying so much, that's my job. Anyway, you'll be surprised by how similar human schools are to ours."_

" _Minus all the medium stuff," Shadow added. "Speaking of, it'd probably be good if we didn't pull any magic tricks in public. Keep the whole 'medium' thing to ourselves, kay?" She finished the sentence by sending a wink in Aviar's direction._

" _Speak for yourself..." Aviar grumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes. However, his frown quickly disappeared when Shadow's words reminded him of something. "That being said, what school are we going to?"_

" _I've already done the courtesy of enrolling you at Trina High School as second-year students—you're welcome, by the way—and you'll be starting in a few days," Seraph answered. The girl sitting next to her worked away a small square of paper, unfolding it several times before handing it to Aviar. "What is this?" he inquired as he retrieved it._

" _Uniform policy," Shadow replied._

" _Uniforms, huh?" the teenager parroted, quickly scanning over the document. "Guess this really_ won't _be too different from home."_

" _Yep. We'll be buying them later today, along with the rest of the school supplies you need. However, there's some preparation I must do to the uniforms before you can wear them. Don't worry, we'll get it all taken care of," Seraph explained._

 _Aviar didn't answer, but quietly acknowledged the woman's words. His eyes turned down to the sheet of paper, and he read over the content more carefully._

* * *

Aviar snapped out of his reminiscing, coming back to reality in his bedroom. Reminding himself of the school day to come, he began to dress himself. One by one the teenager equipped each unfamiliar article, first buttoning a white colored shirt, followed by a pair of dress pants. He sported black socks and slipped his feet into a pair of cap toe shoes. He reached for his plain-colored tie and took several attempts to tie it properly. Upon finally getting it right, he looked around for his blazer, only not to find it.

Despite his frantic searching and uprooting of his closet, the suit jacket was nowhere to be found. He groaned in frustration and stepped out his door, calling across the floor and in the general direction of Shadow's bedroom. "Hey, Shadow!" he called. Where in the world is my blazer? I can't find it anywhere."

Shadow didn't answer, but her door opened, and out came a mass of black fabric that landed perfectly on Aviar's head. After grunting and fumbling around, he pulled it off, only to realize that the fabric tossed at him was the blazer he asked for. Inserting one arm into a sleeve, he swung it around to insert his other arm, finding it to be an incredibly comfortable fit. "Thank you!" he shouted.

"No problem! Seraph kept it to sew on the school patch, but I forgot to return it to you. Sorry about that!" her voice responded through the open door.

Heading into the bathroom, Aviar flipped the light switch, illuminating his reflection in the large mirror. Upon seeing himself in the school uniform, he immediately frowned, rotating his torso in several directions to check the different angles. "Ugh, I look ridiculous," he muttered while pulling at his collar that was tightly hugging his neck. Shaking his head, Aviar switched off the light before exiting the bathroom.

Stepping back into the hallway, he watched Shadow emerge from her room, complete in her uniform. She wore a similar blazer and white button-up shirt, but sported a ribbon instead of a tie, and wore a pleated skirt. "Hey, if you ask me, I don't look too bad..." she said as she shut her bedroom door. However, her sentence was interrupted as her eyes fell on Aviar, and a hand covered a gaping mouth as she gasped.

"Aviar!" she cried. "I had no idea you looked so nice in that uniform!"

"What are you talking about?" he responded with a slight laugh, shaking his head at her explosive reaction. "It's a uniform."

"But c'mon! You look so fancy," he insisted. Dashing over to him, she pulled out her cell phone and spun around, readying the frontal camera.

"I swear, you've been taking pictures of _everything_ ever since you got that thing," Aviar commented, shaking his head.

"Smile for the camera!" Shadow declared, flashing a peace sign and winking. Aviar sighed and looked upward at the lens as he forced a grin on his face, appearing more like a nervous smile like anything else.

With their obligatory picture taken, Shadow stowed away the phone and turned away. As she ran down the stairs, she called out out the him. "Let's head to school!"

* * *

Having said their goodbyes to Seraph, Aviar and Shadow exited left their residence and began to walk along the neighborhood pathway. The winds kicked up, blowing a chilly breeze through the air before dying down again, ruffling the leaves of nearby trees. Aviar slung his tote bag across his opposite shoulder and shoved his newly-freed hand into a pocket while Shadow kept holding onto hers. They traveled the cramped and narrow streets of their new neighborhood in silence until one of them spoke up. "Feeling nervous?" Shadow asked, nudging her companion.

"Little bit," he replied. His face contorted in discomfort, and he shifted his necktie a bit. "How about you?"

"I'm a bit anxious, too. Not gonna lie," she admitted. Turning her head, she immediately started laughing at the expression that Aviar was making. "What's with the face?"

"This is unlike you…" he said with a raised eyebrow. "Aren't you always excited about these sorts of things?"

"Well, I am!" she declared, her laughter ceasing. "Of course I'm excited. I'm looking forward to meeting all the new people, seeing how things are different, and simply being in a new country. There's always that unknown element, though, and that can get to me sometimes."

She playfully shoved Aviar before continuing. "You're not the _only_ one who experiences those kinds of things."

"Fair enough," he acknowledged, correcting his walking trajectory. Together, they turned a corner when the streetway ended and prepared to exit the neighborhood. However, they were stopped when a cat prowling on the perimeter wall leaped down and stood in their path. It had a black coat and white underbelly, and its bright yellow eyes stared forward at the people in front of it.

"It's a cat!" Shadow exclaimed. It approached her, taking a few hesitant steps toward her. "It's alright, buddy, I'm not gonna hurt you," she encouraged. Accepting her invitation, it weaved in and out of legs, rubbing up against her. Shadow giggled at its action and set down her bag as she knelt to pick it up. "Aww, I think he likes me," she said while stroking and tapping its head, and it purred in response.

Aviar stayed silent and took a step back as he watched his friend play with the newfound cat. He narrowed his eyes at the animal, watching it carefully. "Aviar, I never understood why you didn't like cats," Shadow spoke while turning to him. "How could you hate something so cute and adorable?"

The feline's yellow eyes stared forward at Aviar, meeting his own weary gaze. "I'm not sure, cats just always…" his voice trailed off he remained eye-contact with the creature, gazing into its deep, unblinking eyes. It made his stomach turn, and something deep inside telling him that something was… wrong. Aviar swore that something was working behind those eyes, and it was gleefully taunting him.

"...creeped me out," he finished, shuddering as he moved his sight away from the cat. Shadow sighed and placed the feline back on the ground. She patted its head one last time, and it hopped up to the perimeter wall again, lying down as it watched the two new students. "Anyway, let's get going," the girl said, picking up her school bag. "Trina High is just down the road a ways."

The two fell silent again, walking amongst the ambient sounds of the fall morning. Sounds of the wind, their own footsteps against concrete, and the rumbling of distant train systems substituted their lack of conversation. Eventually, they encountered other teenagers wearing school uniforms heading in the same direction as them. Having made most of their journey in silence, Aviar decided to speak up. "Mind if we go over the procedure, again?"

"Fine by me," Shadow responded, turning her head toward him. "I was noticing how quiet you were being."

"My apologies. A lot on my mind," he replied, scratching the back of his head. "Anyway, here's how the team is divided up. Seraph will be at base, acting as the overseer. I'll be the one actually contacting the Rogues. In other words, talking to them."

"And I'll be on the field acting as backup," Shadow added, pointing a finger at herself. "If things go sour, or all hell breaks loose, I'll bail you out of there." She added a smile on top of the final statement.

"Right. Our cue is the Rogue activity alarm. When it sounds, and the school begins to evacuate, you'll take me to the Rogue's location. Then, it'll be my job to speak to them and start the reformation process. We'll all have earpieces, so we can talk to each other during the mission."

Aviar rubbed his head with a hand, running over his mental checklist a couple more times. "Did I forget anything?" he asked his friend.

"Well, you didn't exactly explain _how_ you intend to reform the Rogue once you met them," Shadow suggested, sending a smirk his way.

He rose an eyebrow at her teasing look. "Because I'm not entirely sure. Honestly, I have no idea what I'm supposed to say or do." He turned his gaze to the girl beside him and continued his line of thought. "You would think that Yggdrasil would have some sort of training for me to go through. Why are they having me go at this with no experience?"

Shadow chuckled at the question directed at her, shaking her head. "Aviar, it may seem like it, but I don't know everything," she laughed. "If I had to guess, it's because this was a pretty new order on their part, and there hasn't been time to make a proper training course. Ever thought it was weird that us three are the only ones trying to reform Rogues? I bet Seraph was the only one assigned to this job."

Aviar slid both of his hands into his pockets, silently agreeing with his partner's proposition. He let out a sigh, almost in surrender. "How would you suggest I go about doing this?" he asked, his eyes turned away and voice lower in volume. "Talking to the Rogues, I mean."

"Hmm…" Shadow mused, pursing her lips as she thought. "For starters, you could make them like you."

"Like me?"

"Yeah!" she exclaimed, her face brightening. "Be nice and friendly to them. Show that you're a good person, and you're not trying to hurt them. If they trust you, then you can get them like people and the world as a whole and convince them to _not_ blow it up. From there, we can induct them into society rather easily."

"I see…" Aviar acknowledged, rubbing his chin with his fingers.

Shadow laughed, shaking her head. "Don't overthink it, bud. They're people too, remember? They have their own personalities and quirks, and each one will be different. Just… imagine you're trying to make a new friend. If you're so worried about going with no experience, you could always practice on our future classmates."

Aviar turned his head toward her, raising an eyebrow at her suggestion. "Pretend that they're highly-dangerous beings in need of a savior?"

"That's not what I meant," Shadow frowned. "I was saying you should freshen up your social skills."

He only laughed in response, patting his friend on the back. "Oh, I'm aware. I was just messing with you."

Shadow stuttered as she tried to respond, but nothing ended up coming out of her mouth. With no other option, she looked away as Aviar wore his own smirk, triumphant over his victory. "Yeah, you got me," she pouted, speaking in a much lower tone.

The other teenager chuckled at her reaction, feeling pride as he had successfully turned the tide. "Hey, I know how to joke, too," he grinned. "You look really cute when you do that, by the way."

She just grunted and turned her face away completely, extending Aviar's giggling even further. His laughter died down, and both stopped walking, having come across a large open gate built into the wall along the sidewalk. If the massive building beyond it, and all the teenagers in uniforms walking to it weren't enough, a metal plaque reading "Trina High School" was plastered on the wall beside the gate.

"Looks like we're here," Aviar announced.

* * *

Together, the two new students found themselves in an empty hallway, standing before an opaque sliding door. Above the door, a sign labeled '2-1' jutted out into the open air, indicating that the room was the first second-year homeroom. "Here it is. Classroom 2-1," Shadow said. She turned to Aviar. "Remember, the teacher said that we'll introduce ourselves after homeroom has started. Not sure what to do? Just follow my lead," she smirked, poking him in the chest.

"If you say so," was his reply, accompanied by an eye roll. Shadow reached and slid open the door, stepping inside the room. Aviar followed her. His first impression of the room was that it was… clean. Very clean, actually. Everything was neat and orderly, the desks organized and perfect rows and spotless. The room had a blank color palette, sticking mainly to white and sometimes light grey. Many other students resided in the room, sporting the school uniform and conversing with one another.

He swallowed. It had only been a few seconds, and he already felt out of place or excluded somehow. Memories of his home sprang back, fondly recalling the smaller room, homey feel, and more vibrant color scheme. Everyone already knew each other, and it was just like a social gathering with a more informal and friendly tone. This, on the other hand, felt professional. Perhaps a bit too professional.

Shaking his head clear of his thoughts, Aviar scanned the rows of desks to find an empty seat for himself, settling for one at the very back and next to the window. Walking over to it, he lifted his tote bag off his shoulder and set it by the seat, sitting down afterward. Once he was settled, his gaze shifted over to Shadow across the room. As expected, she approached a group of girls and began talking with them, introducing herself. Before Aviar could watch them any further, someone walked up to him.

A boy with spiky teased-up hair sat backwards in the desk ahead of Aviar, facing him. "Yo," he greeted, sounding a little flamboyant. "Name's Omar. Don't think I've seen you around before. Transfer student, perhaps?"

The sudden appearance of the new boy snapped Aviar out of his staring. "I am, actually," he responded, his voice not sharing any of the resident student's enthusiasm. He turned his head to the person who spoke to him. "I moved about a week ago, and today's my first day of school here. My name is Aviar."

"Nice to meetcha, Aviar. Sweet name, by the way," Omar stated, holding out his hand.

"Hehe, thanks," the other student replied with a small chuckle, accepting the handshake.

"No problem, my man. Although, transfer students are supposed to be introduced after homeroom has started. You came in a bit early."

A drop of sweat rolled down Aviar's head, fearing he may have overstepped a social taboo. "Uh… is that a bad thing?"

"Nah, don't worry about it," Omar assured, patting the new student's shoulder and wearing a grin. "Might throw the teacher for a loop, but you'll be alright, trust me."

"Okay, good…" Aviar muttered, his heartbeat slowing down at the averted crisis. Standing from his desk, Omar swiftly moved behind Aviar. He draped his arm across Aviar's neck in a sudden motion, causing him to tense up at the sudden contact. Holding him in a friendly headlock, much to the recipient's discomfort, Omar spoke. "Tell me, buddy, what's your love life like?"

"That came out of nowhere," Aviar retorted, going wide-eyed at the question. He slightly shifted his head to look at his classmate. "Does 'nonexistent' count as an answer?"

"Of course it doesn't! There's gotta be _someone_ you have your eyes on," Omar replied, extending a hand towards a group of girls on the other side of the classroom. "If I had to guess… would it be the copperhead over there? I think I saw you walk in with her just a second ago."

"What? No." Aviar denied from underneath his classmate's arm. "She's a childhood friend _at most_. Besides, what made you think I even knew her, anyway?"

"Oh, she's a friend? Well, I was kinda correct," Omar laughed, still keeping Aviar latched in the crook of his elbow. "Either way, I say you should keep her around. As they say, you can't make old friends."

Aviar's expression fell into a pout, frustrated that his classmate seemingly missed the point of his remark. He turned his eyes back toward Shadow, hoping that she would see him and bail him out. Much to Aviar's delight, his friend did turn her head toward him, and he put on the strongest 'help me' look he could muster. However, Shadow immediately went wide-eyed and clasped her hand to her mouth to suppress her laughter upon seeing him. Aviar's hopeful look immediately died.

To further rub salt in the wound, she pulled out her cell phone and snapped of photo of him trapped in Omar's grasp, still barely functioning from the contained amusement. Aviar groaned and made a mental remark to leave Shadow stranded in a similar situation in the future.

"Yep. _Definitely_ a keeper," Omar declared, chuckling at Shadow's antics. Aviar groaned in response, freeing himself from the overly-friendly teenager's grasp. "Yeah, tell me about it," he said with an eye roll.

"Hello, Aviar."

A new voice broke them from their exchange, and both their heads turned to the side. It belonged to girl was standing by the desk next to Aviar's. She had vibrant blonde hair that was pulled into a long ponytail that rested on her front. Green eyes rested beneath her bangs, and her mouth was curved into a small, inviting smile. Her attire wasn't much to speak of, considering that it mimicked every other female in the room.

"Hi, there…" he replied with some uncertainty. "How do you know my name, exactly?"

"It's on your bag, silly," the girl giggled. When Aviar shifted to look at the bag resting by his desk, sure enough, a tag was sewed on with his full name printed. _How about that_ , he thought. He turned his gaze back to the blonde, who set her bag down at the desk next to him. Her voice reigned familiar to his ears, but he couldn't place a finger on it. Aviar knew this was the first time they had met, but he couldn't shrug off of the fact that he heard her voice somewhere before.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, spinning around to face the two classmates. "I just remembered. I want to speak to you, Aviar." She tilted her head and pressed a finger to her still smiling lips. "Privately."

Aviar turned his head to look at Omar, as if to ask for an explanation. The resident student returned a similar, if not more wide-eyed expression, signalling his own confusion. "Uh... okay," a bewildered Aviar replied, rising from his seat while Omar stayed. The girl twirled around and walked to the back door of the classroom while Aviar followed. Opening the door, she stepped through, and so did her follower.

As soon as both were in the empty school hallway, Aviar spoke up. "So, what was it you wanted to _—_ gah!"

He received a swift blow in the chest, sending him into the wall. Before he could react, the girl pinned a forearm against his collar and held the point of small knife at his throat. A cold sweat dropped at the sight of the blade, and his teeth grit in a pained grin. "Okay, okay, I surrender!" he declared, pulling away as far as the wall would let him. His eyes met her slated green ones, any presence of the cheery schoolgirl persona gone. Instead, a cold and hardened glare replaced it, and he felt completely overpowered.

"Why were you there on the tenth?" she demanded.

"The... tenth?" Aviar echoed, raising an eyebrow at the question.

She grunted, narrowing her eyes a bit further. "When Cataclysm was spotted. You were there at the scene. Why?"

"Ooohhh…" Aviar uttered, feeling like a wall in his mind was finally broken. He imagined her hair untied and sprouting out the back of a helmet. The battle he witnessed was brought to the forefront of his memory, recalling the clashing between the flaming sword and laser blade. "You're Firefly 1. That's why your voice sounded familiar."

Her eyes shifted a bit, but her glare intensified as she pressed the knife closer. "Answer me," she ordered.

"Alright! _Alright!_ " Aviar yielded as he retreated from the knife even more. "I was caught outside when the alarm went off," he explained. "I was running home and that… spacequake happened in front of me. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, I swear."

The girl's eyes narrowed as she continued to scowl at Aviar, as if she was studying every inch of his face. After a few moments, she released him from her hold and stepped back, sheathing the knife in her shirt sleeve. Aviar kept his eyes locked on her as he caressed his neck. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay quiet about this," she told him, frown still present on her face.

"Quiet about what exactly?" Aviar wondered, drawing his head away.

"Everything you saw that day, along with what happened here. If any of this gets out, I _will_ know it's you, understand? I shouldn't need to warn you of the consequences," she explained, her eyes continuing to bore into his.

Slowly, Aviar's hands creeped upward, as if to proverbially wave the white flag. "Not a word, I promise," he yielded. Upon those words, the girl's hardened demeanor vanished in an instant, replaced with a soft expression and smiling mouth at the drop of a hat. "Anyway, thank you so much for being willing to talk with me," she said while performing a small bow.

Aviar only remained silent at her words, raising an eyebrow at the complete shift of appearance and speech. His eyes stayed glued to her as she advanced past him, opening and walking through the door to the classroom. Once she disappeared out of view, he let out the breath he kept in his chest. _What… just happened?_ he thought, entirely unsure how to process the series of events that took place.

Drawing in another breath, he rubbed his forehead as he re-entered the classroom, still puzzled. As he walked back to his desk, he noticed that Omar remained at the same spot when he left. Only twitching uncontrollably.

"Dude!" he exclaimed in the lowest whisper he could manage as Aviar sat down. "What happened? What did she do? How did she do it? You gotta give me all the details, man!" he questioned rapid-fire as he inched his face closer and closer.

"Calm down, will you?" Aviar retorted, sinking further and further into his chair. "Why do you care so much?"

"Tell me, man. I need to know!" Omar continued, shoving his face even closer.

"Uh…" the other student trailed off as his eyes turned to the blonde sitting in the desk next to him. She was watching the hilarious exchange between the two classmates, still wearing that same upbeat smile. Even if her expression didn't show it, her eyes held a deadly gaze, reminding Aviar of their previous conversation.

Sweat rolled down his head at the sight, and he turned back to Omar. "Doesn't that kinda ruin the point of a private conversation? We didn't kiss, if that's what you're wondering."

Aviar's eyes shifted back to the girl, and her gaze softened a little as if to say _Good job_. Omar finally backed off him and sat down in his chair. "Fine, fine," he replied, giving a small shrug and following up with a grin. "I'll let you off the hook this time."

Aviar breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that Omar wouldn't press the topic any further. His eyes shifted toward the blonde sitting next to him. For once, she wasn't glaring or looking at him. Rather, she was unpacking various school items from her bag, and he was glad that she finally relaxed off him. Reaching a hand over to Omar, Aviar tapped him with a finger to grab his attention. "Who _is_ that girl, anyway?"

The classmate lost the sparkle in his eyes, and his head tilted. "You… don't know her?" Omar said while raising an eyebrow.

"Am I supposed to?" Aviar responded. The livelier student looked over at the girl sitting next to Aviar, who was facing forward and no longer paying attention to them. He leaned in toward his classmate and moved a hand to shield his words. "You're probably the only person who doesn't know her. That girl is Cyrene Orion, one of the most popular girls in the school. She's consistently at the top of her class, a complete pro at sports, and gorgeous to boot. I also heard that she's amazing at singing, dancing, cooking, and variety of other things. Practically a minor celebrity."

 _Okay… not at all what I was expecting_ Aviar thought. His acquaintance turned to face him head-on. "What I'm interested in is why she decided to talk to you of all people. She is wayout of your league."

"Thanks for the compliment," Aviar replied flatly.

"Hey, don't feel bad. We all are," Omar declared with a chuckle, patting his classmate's shoulder.

Immediately after saying that, a bell rang through the classroom, signalling that homeroom was about to start. Everyone returned to their seat, and Omar faced forward in his chair. Aviar glanced over and stole a gaze or two at Cyrene sitting next to him. _There is more to this girl than she's letting on. Nobody knows about her status in the military, nor about what she does. I bet half the things people say about her aren't even true. Do these people not understand what's going on with these Rogues?_ he thought. He saw her left eye shift to look at him, and then back forward.

 _And thus, the weirdness continues._

* * *

The black hand of the classroom clock struck the twelve marker, and the ticking gave way to the electronic bell tong that reverberated through the classroom, signalling the lunch period. Aviar's head sprung up from the hand it rested on, the sound restoring his wakefulness. Not too long after, Omar rose to his feet and spun around, leaning on the transfer student's desk with a toothy grin. "Yo, Aviar!" he called out. "You wanna have lunch together? I'd love to talk to ya some more."

"Yeah, sure thing," Aviar replied with significantly less zeal, recalling the quick run-down he had been given on lunch etiquette. He reached over into the tote bag still resting by his desk, feeling around for the convenience box. However, his face paled when the smooth plastic cover of the box wasn't found. "You alright, dude?" Omar spoke up, noticing Aviar's lack of motion.

"Yeah…" he muttered, although the tone of his voice didn't sound convincing. "I... just realized I forgot my lunch."

"Ah, no worries," Omar declared, grinning a little bit. "I don't know how things work back in your old home, but this school has a little something called a cafeteria. We can stop by and pick something up for you."

Aviar's eyes lit up at the news but darkened soon after. "I don't have any money, either. Not in Halo's currency, anyway."

"In that case, I'll be the one paying for lunch. Omar Kingston, at your service."

Twirling his arms around, Omar performed an exaggerated bow towards Aviar. "No 'thank-you' required."

Aviar snickered at the other teenager's performance, but ultimately held a hand up in protest. "Thank you, but you really don't have to. It's not a big deal."

"It's nothing, bro. Don't worry about it," he countered, rising from his bow and adopting a causal pose. "Besides, I think lunch is a pretty big deal. Man's gotta eat, y'know?"

Running a hand through his brown hair, Aviar let out a sigh. "I just don't want you spending your money on me. In all honesty, I'd rather be buying _you_ lunch if I could."

"Ohhh…" Omar breathed, yet another smile stretching across his face. "You're one of those good karma types, aren't ya? Y'know, always helping others, refusing favors when they're offered, that kind of stuff?"

Aviar rose an eyebrow at the statement, not sure how to react at the analysis of his character. "Yeah... I guess that's right," he responded.

"Remind me to hang around you more," Omar chuckled. "See if any of that good luck can rub off on me."

Stretching his arms above his head, he reset some of his spiky hair before continuing. "Anyway, buckle up and come with me, and we'll get you some lunch. I know you want to be selfless and whatnot, but I promise it's okay to accept a favor just this once. Besides, nothing you say will convince me otherwise, so you might as well accept your fate."

The brown-haired teenager sighed in defeat. "Okay, okay, I surrender," he relented while holding his hands up.

"Good," Omar said with a smile, no doubt feeling triumphant. "While we're at it, I can get you acquainted with everybody. Sit with some cute girls along the way."

"I should've saw that coming…" Aviar muttered while rolling his eyes.

Even though the idea of meeting the other students sounded fun, accepting the offer still didn't sit well with him. It felt like a metal pipe had been shoved into his internal gears, and it was grinding horribly, completely unlike how things were supposed to be. However, he decided to put up with it, and let his acquaintance take over. Thinking about it, he figured going hungry didn't sound very appealing.

 **[WARNING! THERE HAS BEEN ROGUE ACTIVITY DETECTED IN THE NEARBY VICINITY! PLEASE EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY! I REPEAT!]**

"That alarm!" Aviar exclaimed.

"Another one? We just had one last week," Omar muttered, more to himself than to his companion.

"What do we do now?" the transfer student inquired, and Omar turned his head toward him.

"If the alarm's this close, then that means the school needs to be evacuated. This place is gonna be a war zone pretty soon, and we don't want to be caught in the middle of it. C'mon, let's go."

Aviar looked out among the class, and the other students rose from their seats and lined up to the doors, akin to a fire drill. As the teacher was ushering commands, he looked over to his right, and saw Cyrene standing up from her desk and exiting through the back door. He thought about calling out after her, but ultimately remained silent.

Omar advanced toward the line of students while Aviar rose from his desk. However, Shadow jogged over to Aviar before he could walk anywhere. Upon seeing her, he suddenly remembered their morning conversation, and what exactly the blaring alarm entailed. "That's our cue, buddy. You ready to rock and roll?" she asked, hardly able to contain her excitement inside her smiling mouth.

"Right. Forgot," Aviar stated. He reached a hand over to Omar, turning his attention toward him. "Uh… something just came up, and I really have to go."

The teen didn't have any time to protest before Aviar turned on his heels and sped in the opposite direction. "Stay safe, will ya?!" was all he managed to get out before both he and Shadow made it out the rear door.

* * *

Aviar and Shadow ran down the hallway, dodging the lines of students as they began to flood out of the opened classroom doors. Reaching a hand to his neck, Aviar unbuttoned his collar and loosened his tie. "What do we do now!?" Aviar shouted over the ambient chatter and local alarms.

"We save the Rogue, duh!" Shadow responded, resulting in a scoff from Aviar.

"No kidding! However, you never bothered to explain what we'd do once the alarm sounded!"

Weaving around a corner and dodging around evacuating students, Shadow slowed down and stopped by a door. She twisted the handle and pulled it open, gesturing to the dark room inside. "Get in," she said in a lower tone, and Aviar obliged, not bothering to read the sign indicating what the room was.

Shadow stepped inside and let the door close behind her, briefly concealing the room in darkness before hitting the light switch. The room was bathed in light, revealing its multitude of cleaning supplies on the various shelves, along with the mop buckets and brooms present. It was just large enough to suit the two and allowed for limited movement.

Reaching into her jacket pocket, Shadow pulled out a pair of small devices. Taking one, she fitted it into her right ear, and held the other out to Aviar. "What's this?" he asked while taking it out of Shadow's hand.

"Earpieces," she answered, smiling. "It's how we'll talk to each other and Seraph on the field."

After examining the small green earbud between his fingers, he carefully positioned the device into his left ear, and it fit comfortably. "Will the Rogues notice this thing in my ear?"

"Eh… it's a bit hard to notice, but it's possible. Here, this may help…"

Shadow took a step forward and reached a hand to the side of Aviar's head, pulling some of his dark brown hair over his ear, partially concealing the device. "There we go! Can hardly notice it," she declared while stepping back. "Alright, activation is quite simple. Just tap it to toggle it on or off."

While Aviar reached to his ear to do that, Shadow toggled it on and slightly covered her mouth. "Testing, testing, can you hear me?" her voice came through in Aviar's left ear in surprisingly high quality.

"Loud and clear!" Seraph's voice came through, signaling its working condition. "So, how was your first day at the school? I want to hear all about the stuff that happened today,"

"Don't we have other things to be worrying about?" Aviar interjected.

"Hey, I like to know how my kids are doing," Seraph responded, chuckling a little bit afterward. "It's a big day for you two, after all."

Aviar sighed and rolled his eyes while Shadow giggled. Raising a hand to his ear, he spoke. "Where are you, anyway?"

"I'm at home, as a matter of fact," Seraph answered. "Got a cool little workstation setup here. I'll have to show you after the mission's over. Anyway, do you remember the standard protocol?"

"Approach them, get their trust…" Shadow answered, purposefully trailing off at the end.

"...and bring 'em home," Aviar finished.

"That's the spirit!" Seraph's voice cried. "Remember, none of us really know what we're doing, so let's strap in and hope for the best."

"Great," Aviar said flatly. "Remind me, how exactly are we supposed to get to this Rogue? I mean... we're currently standing in a broom closet."

Shadow's lips immediately curved into a smirk when Aviar mentioned the lack of transportation, and Seraph chuckled from the other end of the line. "Well, Shadow's been excited about this for quite a while. Show it to him, girl."

She took a step back, and spread her arms about, closing her silvery-blue eyes. Wisps of shadowy smoke swirled around her form, and her shoulder-length hair began to wave. Dark purple energy consolidated at her feet, and billowed upward, combining with the shadow and smoke. Soon, Shadow's entire form was concealed by the whirling mass of energy, but quickly dissipated with an outward burst, revealing her full form.

Instead of the female school uniform, Shadow was adorned in a dark purple and black outfit, a red sash tied around her stomach. Her arms came out of a cowl, wearing black sleeves and fingerless gloves. A stylized skirt extended beyond her waist, black leggings pulled onto her legs and descending into knee-length boots. Finally, a waist-length cloak hung around her shoulders, and a hood was pulled over her head.

Aviar stood completely speechless, his jaw agape at the sight before him. His rapid blinking failed to distort the image before him, so he figured his eyes were functioning properly. Only a scoff came from his mouth as he tried to force sound through it. Shadow placed a hand on her hip, her playful smirk ever present. "I was gonna ask you 'how do I look,' but I think that look on your face already answers my question," she giggled.

"Since when were _you_ able to summon your Coat of Arms?" Aviar groaned, rubbing his forehead in a way that concealed his eyes.

"Only recently," she replied, chuckling a little bit.

"She's been practicing quite a bit," Seraph chimed in. Aviar sighed while shaking his head, eventually lowering the hand in front his face. "Of course she has," he muttered while rolling his eyes. "Anything else you wanna show me? Get it all out of the way?"

"Sure, but you may want to hold on for this one," Shadow answered, her smirk somehow growing even wider without her lips parting. Reaching out with a gloved hand, she hit the light switch, bathing the room in darkness. Without any time for Aviar to react, her body disintegrated into shadow and collected behind him, reforming as she grasped onto him.

"Huah—!" was all that came out of Aviar's mouth before both of them dissolved into smoke and wisped away.

* * *

Immediately collapsing on his hands and knees, Aviar heaved breaths in and out of lungs, not bothering to notice the significant change in scenery. Once his breath was caught and heart rate slowed, his head rotated upward. "What the crap was that?"

Shadow, who was standing in front of him, chuckled nervously. "Yeah… I'm sorry. Forgot that you've never shadow morphed before..."

Standing to his shaking knees, Aviar dusted off his pants and blazer, also sending a wary eye towards his friend. "Is that what it's like _every_ time you use that ability?"

"You get used to it," she shrugged. Aviar just grunted in response and spun around to view the surroundings. The two of them were standing on a road, completely void of any people or vehicles, probably thanks to the Rogue Activity alarm. Roofs of houses rose above the walls at either side of the pavement, and looking far enough, one could spot the backside of Trina High School. "This is a residential area…" Aviar breathed.

"Not to worry," Seraph assured through his earpiece. "Everyone here should have evacuated by now. Shadow, remain on standby, and only enter when I give the order."

"Yes, ma'am," she saluted with two fingers, and disappeared into the shadows with a few wisps of smoke, leaving Aviar alone. He sighed and turned forward. "Alright, where am I going?"

"From the looks of things…" Seraph started, trailing off as typing came through the audio feed. "...Cataclysm is nearby. Just head down that road and make the first left you see."

Upon hearing the directions, Aviar started to jog in his forward direction, making steady progress underneath the noon sun. However, as he continually made forward progress, he could feel the continual sinking of his heart. Drops of sweat started to appear on his forehead, despite the cool weather, and the lump in his throat only grew bigger with each step. His thoughts began to go wild, realizing every flaw in their plan, and conceiving of every way this could end horribly.

Eventually, his doubts completely overcame him, and his jog began to slow. Once the block ended and the left turn became visible, Aviar's movement ceased entirely.

"Hey, you stopped moving. What's going on?" Seraph asked through his earpiece.

Aviar sucked in a huge breath through his teeth, and released it in a heavy sigh, his head pivoting downwards and hair concealing his eyes. "Can we really do this?" he asked, his voice barely loud enough to be picked up by the device in his ear. "You said it yourself. None of us know what we're doing. We're going at this with no training, no precedent, and no guarantee of safety. Is this really the right thing to be doing?"

Shadow's low laughter came through the line. "You're so silly, bud. Are you saying you're _that_ willing to give up on that girl?"

Aviar's head perked up at her words, suddenly remembering his previous encounter with said girl. Yes, her literal blazing glory still reigned quite familiar to him, but most of all, he recalled that lost look in her flame-colored irises.

"Yeah, I did say that. In all honesty, we are just flying by the seat of our pants. However, _you_ were the one who also said that no one should have to experience what they go through, and that you wanted to help them. Do you take back what you said then?"

His right hand tightened into a fist at the reminder, and his doubts started clear away from his mind. They were still present, but they were clouded out by a much stronger force: hope. Sliding his eyelids closed, he visualized the girl once more in his head. He imagined her eyes, but not in the afraid, lost state he remembered. In those eyes, he saw a sense of a belonging, like she had finally found a home. The eyes of someone truly happy. That was his only desire.

Reopening his brown eyes, the view of the street greeted him, and he noticed the left turn in the road. However, instead of being repulsed by it, he felt drawn to it. "No. I want to help that girl and give her the home she deserves."

Seraph chuckled at Aviar's sudden flip in mood. " _There's_ the Aviar we know and love. Glad to have you back."

He resumed his forward movement and walked toward the turn in the road at the end of the block, standing more upright and his stride gaining a form of confidence and rigidity.

Seraph leaned backward in her chair, observing one of the computer monitors on her cluttered desk. It displayed a bird's eye view of the city, with several important pieces clearly labeled on the map. A smile grew across her face as she saw a brown dot move upward toward the end of the block, no doubt signifying Aviar. She reached to one of the various keyboards and pressed the 'mute' button to her microphone.

"First contact commencing…" she muttered, watching as the brown dot advanced ever closer to the corner. "In three… two…"

She leaned forward, studying the map even closer. Just as the dot moved pass the corner…

"...one."

As Aviar rounded the block corner, the full view of the new road immediately came into view, and Aviar's eye reflexively widened at the sight. There she was, not too far from the intersection. Even though her back was turned, she was completely recognizable. The girl coated in gleaming armor with unruly flame-colored hair: Cataclysm. The nearby walls lining the road had been destroyed, and a small depression was present in the pavement. A lot of her surroundings were partially aflame, too.

Granted, the destruction was much less severe than the previous encounter, but still in some form uncanny. Aviar took a step forward, landing on a chunk of asphalt that been flung there. The girl spun on her heels, and she faced Aviar. It was just like how he remembered: her brows narrowed, and eyes filled with distaste.

Her hand raised, and a fireball conjured into her open palm. All Aviar could do was gasp before she launched it at his feet, resulting in a blast that threw him onto his back. It wasn't too painful for him, but in that moment, all the courage he gained from Seraph's little pep talk left him.

"Should I head in?" Shadow asked through Seraph's headphones, and she unmuted her microphone for her.

"No, not yet. Aviar's a Medium, he should be able to take a few hits."

Opening the channel to Aviar's side, Seraph spoke up. "Haven't you guys met before?"

Aviar groaned before speaking, still lying on his back. "Yeah… we have," he said through a strained voice.

"Well, see if she remembers you. I think that'd be a good starting point."

As the dust cleared, Aviar noticed Cataclysm walking rather quickly to him, and his muscles tensed up as he braced himself for her next action. Once she was close enough, she planted a boot onto his chest, pinning him to the ground. She conjured another fireball and aimed it at his head. "Why are you here, human?" she demanded, glaring at him through slanted eyes. "Are you just like the rest of them? Here to kill me?"

 _She hasn't changed a bit…_ Aviar thought as he stared up at the girl, his pupils shrinking as he was face-to-face with her wrath once again. He threw his hand forward, speaking before he was turned into a pile of ash. "Wait! I'm Aviar, remember? We met around here sometime last week."

Cataclysm's eyes opened into a more normal shape, and she blinked silently as she continued to stare at him. Aviar's gritted teeth disappeared as he swallowed, hoping that she recalled the event. A heavy sigh breathed out of his lungs when the fireball extinguished itself, and her hand lowered. However, her foot remained firmly planted into his chest, and she kneeled forward as she examined Aviar more closely.

"Aviar… yeah, I remember you," she declared, her eyes narrowing into slants once again. "You were the weird one who pleaded for your life, saying that you weren't going to kill me."

"That's true," Aviar confirmed with a nod. Well, a nod as far as his weird position would allow for.

"So I thought. However, I don't think I believe you. If you truly aren't after me, then why did you come back?"

Seraph set her coffee mug down on her desk and assumed a normal-sitting position while watching the affair on one of her monitors. Hitting a button on a keyboard, she switched her microphone on. "Not the greatest start, but it could've been worse," she said, crossing her legs. "Cataclysm seems to be weary of you, so try to convince her that you really do mean no harm…"

Aviar heard her directions play into his ear but wasn't in a great place to respond. "...once you do that, we can move on from there," she finished.

"You can do this, bud. I believe in you!" Shadow encouraged.

 _No pressure_ , he remarked mentally. As he drew in a breath, his airways were dampened by the girl's boot pressing on his chest, and he tried to get enough to make a statement. "Sure… but can you get off me first...? Please?"

Noticing his strained voice, Cataclysm took her foot off him and stepped back a foot or two. Aviar sprung into a sitting position, taking in deep breaths while holding a hand to his chest. "Haa… thank you," he said in between breaths. Climbing to his feet, Aviar dusted off various parts of his uniform, particularly the spot where the girl's boot had been planted.

She watched in silence as Aviar patted his clothing. After several moments of silence from him, her lips parted as she gritted her teeth, and her eyebrows lowered again. "I've done as you asked, human. Now, answer my question."

"I have a name, feel free to use it," Aviar mumbled under his breath while scratching his ear. "What should I say?"

Swirling her half-full coffee mug, Seraph chuckled at his question. "Just be honest with her. You're there to talk and be friendly, so why say anything different?"

Nodding in response, Aviar turned his eyes back to the Rogue standing before him, response fully formed in his mind. He looked straight into her burning eyes without hesitation. "I came back because I wanted to talk to you."

For a moment, her slanted eyes widened again, and her scowl opened. However, her surprised expression disappeared with a shake of her head, and she raised one of her arms upward. Her fingers flexed into a claw, and a fireball generated in the empty space, causing a sweat to roll down Aviar's head.

"I don't have time for games," she stated, her voice possessing a more distinctive growl. "Your kind has only wanted to hunt me down. So, why would _you_ want to speak to me?"

"Still stay put?" Shadow's voice came through Seraph's headset. Setting her drink down, she leaned forward and reached for her respective button. "Yeah but keep on alert. This may go awry soon."

"I understand," she responded, and her line dropped. Wiping her face and brushing away strands of her loose hair, Seraph focused on Aviar's actions in the monitor. "C'mon… use that stubbornness I know you have…" she mumbled.

Aviar shook his head and redirected his eyesight onto Cataclysm. He drew a breath through his nose, letting it fill his lungs, and released it through his mouth, advice Seraph gave him when he was younger. He felt his fear leave him, and his once-noticeable heartbeat quell. His own eyes narrowed at the girl, and his hands curled into fists.

Like the fleeting touch of inspiration, he conceived of his answer to her question. Sure, he was there on Seraph's orders, but it went much deeper than that. Ultimately, he knew why he was there, and why he even agreed to the job. He felt it when they met on the tenth. He knew it was painful to uncover those buried aspects of him, but if it meant saving this girl, suffering from the same issue, the pain was well worth it.

"I know what you're going through!" he declared. "I know what it's like to be an outcast!"

The fireball conjured in Cataclysm's hand sailed towards Aviar's feet, and it burst into another explosion, blasting a hole in the asphalt and sending Aviar on his back again. Seraph nearly jumped out of her seat as her hand flew to her headset. She leaned in closer to the monitor, wordlessly watching the event as closely as she could.

"Don't talk like you know me, human!" she demanded, preparing another blast in her palm.

Oblivious to the pain, Aviar rose to his feet, knees shaky under his own weight. "But I _do_ know you! You're afraid! You don't know who or what you are, but the world hates you for it. You have no home, and no one to turn to!"

Another fireball sent him on his rear, and Seraph's teeth clenched together in a full pained expression, fully standing up from her rolling chair. "Please, let me get him out," Shadow requested, her voice holding its own tone of desperation.

"Not yet," Seraph said through her teeth, looking at the monitor as close as she could. "Just a little longer."

Cataclysm's face grew even more contorted in her fury, and her voice was elevated to a complete yell. "Shut up!" she cried. "Save your breath! I don't even know what I am, but the humans want me dead regardless! And I haven't done a thing to them! A human like you couldn't _possibly_ understand what that's like!"

"Well, you don't have to stand alone!" Aviar retaliated, having barely recovered from the previous attack. "I'm not like every other human, because I know what that feeling's like. I know what it feels like to be alone! To have no sense of self or purpose! Not even understand what you are or why you're like that! I'm not like other humans because _I'll_ stand with you, even if no one else does! Just let me help you, and I can give you that!"

The final blast sent Aviar barreling into the middle of the intersection, and his jaws locked together as he hissed in pain. He stayed lying on his back, letting the waves of pain dissipate into his muscles before even attempting to move. His eyelids slid open, and he stared at the noon sky above him, taking breaths in and out of his aching chest. The sounds of clinking metal advanced toward him, and he could see the girl approaching in the bottom of his vision.

Right as Aviar could see her clearly, her hand launched toward his neck, her surprisingly strong finger crushing at his throat. His hands reflexively launched toward his arm, gripping at her armored wrist in a futile attempt to pry it off. He felt himself rise from the ground, all the way to his feet and then beyond, floating in the air only by the grip Cataclysm had on him.

"I said _shut up_!" she screamed, her voice breaking at the volume. "Your kind has made me their enemy and have only tried to kill me! You claim that you'd stand against the world for me because you know me, but that's _impossible_! A human like you could never understand that feeling! Your sympathy and offers for help are _meaningless_ to me!"

With each passing moment Aviar felt the walls around his throat close in, and it was becoming increasingly harder to force air down the narrow path. However, that fact remained a minute point as his widened eyes stared into the girl's. That wall he remembered was completely gone, and if her voice wasn't apparent enough, emotion was flooding through her eyes. They become glossy as a thin film of water passed over them, pooling at the corners.

"Damn it!" Seraph shouted while pounding a fist into her cluttered desk, not caring if she broke anything on it. Her hand flew to Shadow's line to activate it, accidentally triggering Aviar's in the process. "Abort mission and get him out of there," she ordered.

"Wait—!" Aviar shouted out loud, barely able to get it out of his voice box. Seraph eyes shifted to his microphone switch, noticing that she had flipped it on. Her hands remained glued to where she placed them and went silent for just a few precious moments. Upon pulling a grimace, she gave her next order. "Fine, you have a few seconds. Better make them count."

Aviar's eyes turned toward the girl's, and using every muscle in his body, he forced the words out of his mouth. "Then… why… are you… _crying_?"

He immediately dropped to the ground, hacking and coughing in a terribly unpleasant manner. On his hands and knees, he heaved massive quarts of air into his newly opened passageways. Caressing his neck, he winced at the tenderness of his skin that somehow wasn't bruising. Looking upward, still panting, he saw the girl stumbled backward with widened eyes and agape mouth. Her head darted every which way before she turned around completely, concealing her face and streaming eyes.

Seraph collapsed into her chair, giving off her own heavy breaths as she stared at the ceiling of the room. Putting the back of her hand to her forehead, she noticed the warmth coming off it, and also the quick heartbeat in her chest. "That was stressful…" she breathed, wiping away some of the loose hair that had gotten in her face.

"I told you," Shadow's voice came through Seraph's headset. "Aviar's a natural at this kind of stuff. And to think _you_ doubted your decision? It's like he was meant to be part of Yggdrasil."

The older woman chuckled at her words, resuming a normal sitting position as her heart rate calmed down. "That he is."

"Aviar…" the girl's voice spoke, her voice much lower in volume than it was before, almost like a mumble. Aviar slowly rose to his feet, dusting off the several parts of his outfit that had gotten dirtied by the previous sequence of events. "You said your name was Aviar, right?"

"Yeah, that's it," he confirmed, his voice also calmer than it was beforehand. "Aviar Dinistro."

"You said that you weren't like other humans… and you're the only one I've encountered that hasn't tried to kill me."

She turned around to face him, and her face looked completely different. Her face wasn't contorted in anger or irritation, and her eyebrows weren't slanted like they usually were. Most of all, the hardness in her eyes were completely gone, and Aviar felt like he was truly seeing the girl underneath the mask of fiery anger. "Why is that? What makes you different?"

"Because I'm willing to give you a chance," he answered. "And I'm not the only one, either. Not all humans are bad or want to kill you. I bet there are loads of people who would welcome you with open arms." Aviar doubted the accuracy of that last claim, but then the grinning image of Omar flashed across his mind. He chuckled at the thought.

"But… if what you're saying is true, then why does everyone run? Why does that annoying sound happen? Why do those flying people try to kill me?" she inquired, using a hand to point upward at the final question.

"They run because they're afraid," Aviar answered. "They're afraid that you might hurt them, and that's why they run. I'm sure plenty of people would approach you if they weren't afraid." He held a hand to his chest. " _I_ didn't run, did I?"

The girl remained silent, turning her head to the side. She raised an armored hand to her chin, rubbing it with her exposed forefinger and thumb. Her eyes disappeared as they became lost in thought, no doubt pondering over Aviar's words. He stepped forward, holding out a hand towards her. "I can prove to you that humans are good, and you don't need to make them your enemy. Just come with me, and I can show you."

Cataclysm's hand lowered from her chin, and she directed her vision at Aviar. Her expression still held the pensive aura it had beforehand. "I want to believe you," she stated. "You say you understand me, and that's the only reason someone would even want to meet me. However, you're the _only_ human who has come to talk to me, making me wonder if your claims about humanity are true."

At those words, Aviar could feel his heart slip into his gut, and his pupils narrowed. "I assure you—"

"No, I'm sure you're being truthful..." she interrupted, and Aviar's heartbeat immediately leveled out. "...it just makes me wonder. Then again, you're the only human I've spoken to that hasn't tried to kill me, and there must be a reason behind why you're so dedicated to helping me…"

Turning on her feet again, she crossed her armored arms across her breastplate, creating a clicking sound. Staring down at the asphalt, she tapped her boot against the pavement and hummed through her closed lips. To preserve his chances, Aviar remained silent as she weighed out her options. "Holy crap, that actually worked," he muttered under his breath.

"See? I told you that you had it in the bag," Shadow chirped over the intercom. "You should learn to trust me more, y'know?"

"Really, that was quite the impressive display down there," Seraph chimed, raising her legs to rest on the desk. "Not so bad for the first day on the job, huh?"

"Yeah…" Aviar chuckled underneath his breath. "Thanks for your little motivational speech, by the way."

"No problem!" Seraph responded. "It's what we're here for."

Cataclysm turned to face Aviar once again. This time around, a smile was plastered on her face, the first time since Aviar had seen her. She looked like a little ray of sunshine with that facial expression, and a smile morphed onto his face, too. "Congratulations. You convinced me to go along with your idea. You know about this this world, which serves me well, and I'm also curious to learn more about humans."

Aviar's insides were practically bursting with excitement at the announcement, but he managed to keep his composure under control. However, his smile disappeared once a thought crossed his mind. "Oh, I forgot to ask. What's your name?"

"My… name?" she echoed, her eyes diverting to the side. She went quiet as she pondered the question, and her teeth grit as she pulled a pained expression. "I… don't remember."

A rapid beeping sound blasted out of the speaker's, and Seraph jumped away at the sudden onslaught of noise, knocking several things off her desk. Placing her feet back on the floor and scooting in her chair, she adjusted the overhead map. A few blocks away, a fleet of red dots were closing in the location Aviar and the girl were standing at. "Crap… I forgot!" Seraph muttered and hit the line to both his and Shadow's earpieces.

"Aviar!" she shouted. His heart skipped a beat at the sudden exclamation and his hand flew to his ear. "What's going on?" he inquired.

"The Fireflies! They're en route to your location; they'll be showing up any second!"

"What?!"

Aviar turned his head skyward, and the girl spun around as the sound of jet engines reverberated through the sky. Sure enough, a line of soldiers wearing the familiar black suits were flying in the air. As they approached, the deafening booms of machine gun fire blasted by them, and a wall of dust and broken pavement rushed toward them.

A timely fire barrier rose and blocked any projectiles that would've hit them, and a cloud of dust wrapped around them. "Looks like they found me. You should probably head out of here," the girl stated, turning her head back to Aviar who was crouching behind her. A smile appeared on her face, but it looked more like a wince. "I'd hate it if you got hurt."

"But…" Aviar tried to protest.

"Please. Go," she interrupted, her eyes sinking in their newfound emotion. "I can handle this, but I don't want you to get in the middle of it."

The dust cloud started to settle, revealing the forms of the flying figures. As they shifted to fire their weapons again, the front most one held out their arm. "Hang on, hold your fire!" the male voice cried, and the soldiers complied. Aviar looked up at all the flying figures and gulped at the pairs of eyes staring at him through their visors.

"There's a civilian?!" he yelled. "What is a civilian doing down there?!"

Gesturing to one of the members beside him, he continued. "Five! Get down and escort him out of there. The rest of you stay cold until he's safe—Cyrene, what the hell are you doing!?"

One soldier sped forward, her blonde hair flying behind her as she drew a green laser blade and swung downward at Cataclysm. Holding out her hand, a fire barrier blocked the attack, and the soldier flipped over her and landed in front of the now-standing teenager. "Aviar! I thought I told you to stay out of this!" Cyrene's voice shouted at him.

"Alright, Shadow, it's time to rock and roll," Seraph spoke through her mic. "And I mean it this time. Get Aviar out of there."

"Aye-aye!" she chirped.

"Oh… it's you," Cataclysm spoke, her face hardening and eyes narrowing into slants. Cyrene's head turned back to face her, still holding her green energy blade in a stance. "Can't just leave me alone, can you?"

Cyrene's stance lowered as she grunted. "And I won't. Not until I can rid you from this city forever."

Cataclysm growled at the soldier's words, her gritted teeth showing through her parted lips. She threw her arm to the side, hovering her hand over the ground.

" **Tyrfing!** "

The earth beneath her hand cracked and split, bursting open and unleashing a small pillar of flame. Shooting up to her palm, she gripped onto the edge of the fire, forming it into a ornate handle. She pulled the handle away, and the flames followed, condensing into a semi-solid form as she pointed the christened flaming sword at Cyrene, and the gaping hole in the pavement sealed up.

Cyrene twirled her own blade and rushed forward, their weapons making contact. Just as Aviar noticed a plume of fire burst outward from the two, he felt a pair of hands grasp at his shoulders. Before he could yelp, his vision faded to black as he sank into shadow.

* * *

The sun shone in the sky, casting its infinite rays onto the Earth below without any clouds to block to it. Despite the shining sun and still wind, there was a resident chilliness that held in the air, signifying the Autumn weather. In this part of town, not a singular resident was seen walking the streets or driving along the streets. Likely due to the destruction that littered the area, along with the fact that a Rogue had been spotted there, making it even less inviting.

Aviar kicked a loose piece of rubble, holding his hands in the pockets of his jacket. He stood at the intersection he was at the day before, not too far away from Trina High School. Looking around, he noticed the area looked more dilapidated than it did the day before. The walls lining the neighborhood were completely missing, the road was dotted with countless craters and piles of rubble, and the nearby buildings suffered some damage, too.

 _It's almost surreal_ , Aviar thought as he examined the destruction. _Easy to see why the Fireflies want to kill the Rogues. With scenes like this, who could blame them?_

His face contorted as he pulled a grimace, and a hand tightened into a fist. _Still doesn't justify their actions. I saw for myself what the Rogues are like. 'Cataclysm…' she's just a scared girl, and people hate her for it. Once I saw who she truly was, that smile, I knew I made the right decision. I know what she's going through, and I want to help her, and give her a home with Yggdrasil._

A growl came through his throat. _I wish Seraph hadn't pulled me out of there. I didn't want to abandon her like that, alone with the Fireflies, and especially not with Cyrene. Seraph said she survived the fight, thank goodness, but we don't know where she is, or even if she'll even come back._

Messing with his hair, he closed his eyes and let out a sigh, dismissing the negative thoughts. _However, I'm happy that I was able to convince her to give humans a chance. That joy I had when I saw her smile for the first time was… amazing. I really felt happy about. I love it whenever I'm able to see that look on someone._

Upon realizing the bright sides of the scenario, Aviar chuckled out loud. _Guess I didn't do too bad on my first run. I really should believe her when she says I did a good job._

" _Aviar!"_ he imagined her calling. _That would be nice. Being able to hear her voice again, being able to see her genuinely happy. "Hey! I'm here!"_ her voice went again. _That's what I want. A home for her, and a place with people who care about. I want to hear that, the happiness in her voice._

His thoughts were cleared with a vigorous shaking of his head, laughing to himself. _Don't get carried away. You have to actually meet up with her again before all that._ Shaking his head, he spun around. "Just gotta wait until then…"

Upon turning around, his entire body jolted as he yelped. His eyes met a new figure, none other than that of Cataclysm, complete with her fiery features and gleaming armor. "Oh, good!" she exclaimed as her face brightened, lowering a hand that held a fireball in its palm. "You didn't seem to hear me, so I thought I'd do something to grab your attention."

A band of sweat rolled down Aviar's head at the announcement, scratching the back of his head. "Good thing you didn't…" he muttered, his vision straying until he focused back on the girl. "Wait a minute, how did you find me?"

"I didn't!" she answered with a small shrug. "We met here, so I just thought that you'd turn up eventually. Looks like I was right."

Hopping down from the heap of rubble she was perched on, the girl landed a few feet away from Aviar, a small grin stretching across her lips. "If I remember correctly, you said that you'd show me the human world?"

"Uh… I _said_ that, but—"

"Well! I'm here to cash in on that invitation," she declared, completely cutting him off.

"Right... now?" he muttered while raising an eyebrow.

"Yep!" she announced, placing her fists on her hips with a wide smile. Aviar could only stutter in response. Yes, her arrival certainly made him happy, and seeing her in such a happy mood was all well and good, her timing wasn't necessarily optimal. Right as he finished fitting the small earpiece into his ear, she seized his arm, causing him to gasp as her sudden grip grabbed his attention.

"Let's get going!" she shouted, turning on her heels and dragging Aviar along behind her. "There's you a lot you have to show me, and I want to see it all!"

"Wait, wait, wait! Hold on!" he cried, somehow wrenching his arm from the girl's abnormally strong grip. "You just showed up. I don't even know what to do or where to take you."

Using his now-freed arm, Aviar beckoned to her figure. "Also, you probably shouldn't waltz into town wearing that. I recommend changing into something else."

Raising a hand to her face, the girl began to scratch her cheek as she hummed at his words, her eyes looking off to the side. "I see…" she muttered and turned to look directly at Aviar. "What should I be wearing, then?"

"Um…" Aviar's mind drew a blank as he attempted to answer her question. His extended finger retracted a bit, but his eyes lit up with an idea as he recalled the lump in his pocket. "Hang on…" he muttered. Pulling out his phone, he searched "women's fashion" and swiped through several images before stopping at one that caught his eye. Shifting his eyes between the image and the girl, he nodded in approval.

"Something like this would be great," he said, flipping his phone screen around for the girl to see. Moving her face closer, she hummed as she examined the image.

"If you say so," she shrugged. Raising her hand into the air, her hair started to wave like a wind current were blowing through it, and flames started to circle around her. Slowly, they wrapped around her completely and she was completely absent from view, until the orange flames dissipated rapidly. Cataclysm stood with an entirely different outfit, wearing a short-sleeve light pink dress with a red-hemmed skirt that extended to her knees. A bright red bow was tied at her neck, and her feet adorned a pair of short brown combat boots. Finally, a rigid black sun hat sat on her head.

Crossing her arms against her chest, she shifted awkwardly and regarded Aviar, clearly not used to the comparatively light clothing. "Well, how do I look?" she asked.

Aviar rose a forefinger and thumb to his chin, stroking it as he pondered the newly-donned outfit. After humming methodically for a bit, he answered "Yeah, that'll work."

"Oh, there was one more thing," the girl spoke up, tapping the side of her head with a finger. Aviar regarded her with a raised eyebrow, almost afraid of what she going to say. "What is it?"

"I was thinking about what you said yesterday. About my name," she responded. Her eyes shifted away before continuing. "No matter how much I try to remember, nothing comes to me. It's like I was born not too long ago, and anything before that is just not there." Aviar grimaced.

Before he could respond, she turned her eyes back toward him and grew a smile across her face. "However, that'll stop being an issue now that you're here. I was thinking that you could help come up with a name for me!"

"Make a name for you?" he parroted while scratching the back of his head. "Sure, okay."

Aviar fell silent as he ran through a selection of possible name ideas, but the girl had more to say. "Actually, I heard some stuff the other day, and I think they might be good names."

His eyebrows rose in response. "Really? Then let's hear 'em."

"Alright…" she muttered while rubbing her hands together. "How about… Disaster?"

Aviar's eyebrows immediately narrowed at the eccentric suggestion. "No, that wouldn't really work." he said.

"Really? Hmm, what else was there?" she asked herself, humming quietly as her eyes stared off into space. "Oh! What about Crater?"

"Uh…" Aviar trailed off as his lips parted in a nervous smile. "...no."

"Explosion!" the girl cried, raising her arms into the air for emphasis.

 _Does she even know how names work? Probably not,_ Aviar thought as he cleared his throat. "Here, let me…"

"No, no, there was one more," she interrupted. "How about… Caldera?"

Aviar's face softened at the word, losing his skeptical attitude. He knew it was a normal word she picked up somewhere, but it just seemed to fit her so well. Running it through his head a couple more times, he found it to be an incredibly pleasing name.

"Caldera…" he muttered, regarding the girl with a smile and a nod. "I like the sound of that."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 **Hey, remember me? I certainly don't. Anyway, I promised you guys that I'd get the next chapter up within 3 months, and I've done just that with a week to spare. All jokes aside, I have no good reasons for why this took so long, and a lot has happened in my life between now and then. Mostly a combination of laziness, self-doubt, and school.**

 **It's summer break for me, so I don't have to worry about school anymore. I won't set another time frame so I don't kill myself with stress again, but I'll make a serious effort to get the next chapter out as soon as possible. With all that aside, onto the story!**

* * *

" _...aph…"_

 _zzz..._

" _Se... ap… ake… p…"_

 _zzz..._

" _Ser...aph…!"_

 _zzz..._

" _Seraph, wake up!"_

 _zz..!_

A surge of adrenaline shot through Seraph's system, causing her to jolt upward in her seat. Her head snapped upward from whatever object it was resting on, and she slammed her knees into the desk underside, rattling many of the objects resting on it. Scanning her surroundings, Seraph noted she was still in the comfort of her darkened office, breathing a small sigh of relief. With her eyes glued wide open, she flicked her monitors on and fitted the headphones blaring Aviar's voice onto her head.

"I wasn't sleeping. What are you talking about?" she insisted as she activated Aviar's line, organizing some of the clutter strewn about her desk.

"Jeez, it's like you're getting old or something," Aviar scoffed through his microphone.

"Hey, I've still got a few years to go. You're not allowed to call to call me 'old,' yet. Besides, I'm still young in spirit," Seraph retorted, sliding backward in her rolling chair and hitting the light switch to illuminate her working space. "Anyway, what's going on?"

Aviar turned his head to the side, stealing a glance at a girl sporting long and unruly fire-colored hair. Her arms were behind her back and she kicked at the ground as she stood in place, like she couldn't keep still. "Uhh… how do I put this?"

Clearing his throat, Aviar continued. "Long story short, the Rogue showed up out of nowhere and demanded that I show her around. Like, now."

Seraph remained silent, taking a moment to absorb and process the information. "Is Cataclysm with you there?"

Aviar first checked to see if the girl had moved from her spot, which she hadn't. "Yeah, she's waiting for me right now. Also, she named herself Caldera, and I think it's less dehumanizing to refer to her by an actual name."

"I hear ya," Seraph replied. Her hands reached for the keyboard and started to type. "We're gonna have to improvise a bit. Take her to the downtown area, and I'll get things sorted out back here. Should be plenty of things to keep you busy."

Aviar sucked in a breath. "Right…"

* * *

"Remember how we greet people?"

"Hmm…"

The two walked together on the sidewalk, the familiar houses of the residential area gone, and new unfamiliar buildings were coming into view. Aviar wore casual clothing, a jacket over a t-shirt with a pair. A stark contrast in comparison to his partner, who sported a pink dress and black sun hat. Caldera mused as she thought about the question sent her way.

"You… say 'hello,' right? Hello and bow?" she finally answered.

"Yep. Just lightly bow with your arms at your side, nothing too dramatic, and say hello while you do it."

Aviar stepped ahead of her and turned around to face her. "Ah, hello," he went, bowing to Caldera.

"Hello!" she replied, her bow far more exaggerated and speedy. Had she been any closer, she probably would've hit Aviar on the way down. "Yeah, like that!" he laughed. "Now, do you remember what to do if we don't bow?"

"It's uh…" Caldera trailed off, jogging her memory. "It's a… hand… shake, right? Handshake?"

"You got it! It's a handshake," Aviar congratulated her, extending his hand to her. She mirrored his action, but her hand felt more like a dead fish than a limb of living person. "Put more energy into it than that," he chuckled.

However, his laugh ended when he felt his hand being crushed in a grip far stronger than any reasonable person, and he tensed up. "Too much! Too much!" he cried out.

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay!?" Caldera gasped as she released his hand.

Aviar groaned as he waved his hand around, gritting his teeth as he did so. "Yeah, I'm okay," he assured as he articulated his fingers. "You're a lot stronger than most people, so please be careful."

Against his own better judgment, Aviar extended his hand once more after Caldera nodded at his advice. "Now, let's try that again."

Aviar still winced as Caldera's hand closed around his, but it was much more manageable than the previous attempt. Shaking up and down, their hands parted and Aviar patted her on the shoulder. "That's how you do it! Still, watch that grip."

Turning to the side, he gestured toward the path ahead of them. "Ready to head into the city?" he asked.

Caldera's eyes darted around, looking as if she were contemplating the question. However, they returned to look back at Aviar under the rim of her hat. "Let's go!" she answered.

* * *

Amongst the growing crowds of people, a young woman stood up against a wall, a phone being held in her hands. She was wearing a blouse and a skirt with a peacoat pulled over it, along with a pair of short-heeled boots and long socks. A pair of sunglasses concealed her green eyes, and her long blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail.

In the relatively quiet environment, the voices of two individuals became rather apparent. The girl glanced upward just to see who was speaking, but her eyes became locked as soon as she saw who they were. A tall teenage boy in a jacket with dark brown hair, and a girl in a pink dress and black sun sat with brilliantly-colored hair.

She immediately recognized the boy as her classmate and occasional nuisance Aviar, but she wasn't sure about the second one. Remarkably like the Rogue she had recent encounters with. Pocketing her sunglasses, she snapped a photo of the two and fitted a device into her ear.

"This is Master Sergeant Cyrene Orion. Firefly 1 reporting in."

"Firefly 1, this is Captain Claymore. What do you have to report?"

"I believe that I've located Cataclysm's current position. I need you to run a facial recognition on the photo I'm sending."

"Just received it. Give me a couple seconds…"

As the line fell silent, Cyrene moved away from the wall and started to walk a few yards behind the two, making sure she had a visual. "Okay, it's a 98… scratch that, a 98.5% match. This is definitely the one we're looking for. However, these are very weird circumstances. We've never seen Cataclysm in a docile state like this, let alone acting friendly with humans."

The captain hummed a little over the line, and Cyrene continued to tail them. "I also don't understand the boy in this photo. Do you know who he is?"

"Aviar Dinistro, a classmate of mine. He was also with Cataclysm during the last two encounters."

"Ah, that's why I recognized him. I'm running a search because I seriously doubt he's suicidal enough to want to run into this Rogue on three separate occasions. You gave him the warning I ordered you to do, right?"

"I did. I suppose it wasn't enough to keep him away," Cyrene answered.

"Good. It's more important that he doesn't spread information, anyway. Hmm… ah, registered Yggdrasil member. That explains everything."

Cyrene growled at the mention of Yggdrasil. "What are Mediums doing with Rogues? Isn't Yggdrasil supposed to be focusing its efforts elsewhere?"

"I don't know. But if Yggdrasil's involved, it'll be difficult to deal with Cataclysm if she goes hostile. Based on the information here, it looks like Dinistro will be assisted by… Velia Amileen. Does the name ring a bell?"

"Another classmate," Cyrene grunted.

"What a coincidence. Anyway, with the current circumstances, our hands are tied behind our back. The most we can do right now is sit back and watch what happens."

The captain sighed and waited for Cyrene to respond. However, he raised an eyebrow when she remained silent for several seconds. "Firefly 1?" he spoke, making sure she was still online.

"Can we find Amileen's current position?"

The captain breathed. "I'll run a city-wide scan on the cameras and see if we can locate her. What were you thinking?"

For once during the entire exchange, Cyrene's perpetual frown twitched upward a bit. "I know a way we can take her out of the fight."

* * *

"Why are there so many humans!?"

Caldera's reaction to the massive crowds of people in the city was less than stellar, to say the least, in complete contrast to her initial feelings about the idea. When she and Aviar rounded the corner, she immediately freaked at the masses of pedestrians. She held one arm in front of her partner and the other ahead of her. "Get behind me, Aviar! I'll save us!"

"Stop it!"

Aviar interrupted Caldera's shouting, shoving her arms down. "What are you doing!? I'm trying to—"

"Shh!" he hushed, covering her mouth. Aviar managed to keep her subdued just long enough for a few peaceful moments to pass. A few peaceful moments to demonstrate that no, a full-out war was not ensuing. Using his free arm, Aviar gestured to the groups of people nearby. "See?" he started, removing his hand from Caldera's mouth. "No one's trying to attack us. It's safe, I promise."

Caldera remained silent, carefully watching with her flame-colored eyes. A couple was walking down the sidewalk, talking and laughing with one another. Her eyes narrowed and remained locked on them as they approached. She stepped closer to Aviar, obscuring herself with him and continued to watch with a cat-like glare. They stepped closer, closer, and closer until…

Nothing. They just walked by, not casting even an accusatory glance her way. Caldera's defensive glare instead shifted to a look of confusion, and Aviar laughed. "I told you not all humans were after you, didn't I?"

"Hmm…" was all Caldera uttered in return. Her eyes were still narrowed, and she wore a mild frown. Her expression stirred Aviar's memory to when they first met, reminding him of the same expression she once sent his way. He much preferred the happier and more cheerful side she had shown him, and he sighed.

 _Just give her time_ he thought. _She's still new with people. Of course, she'll be afraid._

Putting his hands in his pockets, Aviar continued down the sidewalk as Caldera followed closely behind. She remained in silence as they walked, and Aviar allowed her to hide behind his frame. Her eyes still glared at whoever walked past them, expecting one of them to pounce at exactly the moment her focus lapsed.

However, just like before, she found that none had come to harm her. Or even expressed the desire to. As more and more people passed by, the more relaxed she seemed to be. Soon, her judgmental glares turned into looks of curiosity. Her scowl curved upward into a more neutral expression, and soon she was walking with Aviar rather than hiding behind him. He smiled when he noticed all those changes.

"Hey, what's that?"

Aviar looked upward to where Caldera was pointing and rose an eyebrow at the sight. A small shop was propped up amongst the other vendors and stores, but this one was conspicuously decorated with pastel pink colors and cutesy decorations. "Santa Monica Crepes…" he mumbled, reading the colorful sign. "It's a place that sells crepes."

"Okay, what are crepes?" Caldera asked again.

"I don't know…" he replied with some hesitation. Despite his experience with cuisine in his homeland, he had never heard of 'crepes.' He supposed it was something culturally unique to Halo.

Caldera frowned in response. "How do you not know? Aren't you supposed to know these things?"

"Whatever let's go check it out."

The two approached the shop and joined the small crowd of people at it. As they waited for their turn, Aviar made a mental note of the number of young women looking to buy crepes. Thankfully they didn't have to wait too long before their turn rolled around, and Caldera was already fawning over the plastic models showcasing the kinds of crepes on sale. If it hadn't been for her hat, she would've pressed her face against the glass. Aviar snickered at the sight. "Which one looks good to you?"

"I want… that one," Caldera replied, pointing a finger at one of the models with her face still incredibly close to it.

"Well, say that to her," Aviar proposed, gesturing to the cashier in the vendor. Stepping away from the models, Caldera approached the store counter where a woman in a white uniform stood on the other side. "Hello!" she cried to the store vendor, subsequently bowing to her.

"Hi there," the store vendor chuckled. "What can I do for you?"

"I want that one," Caldera declared, pointing at the model she was practically drooling over.

"Okay, can you tell me which one that is?" the vendor asked.

Caldera tilted her head. "What do you mean? I just said I wanted that one!" she repeated, then pointed at the vendor herself. "Give it to me, human!"

"Don't...!" Aviar interrupted, forcefully pulling Caldera aside and making her look at him. "...shout at people," he finished.

"Why not?" she retorted. "I was trying to—"

"I _know_ , but people don't like it when you shout at them or demand things from them. Also, don't call them 'human.' That's not very nice, either."

Aviar took her hands off her shoulders. "Now, look at how I do it."

He turned back to the store vendor, resting an arm on the counter between. "I'm very sorry about that," he apologized, resulting in a giggle from the woman.

"It's alright," she assured.

"Thank you. Anyway…" Aviar trailed off, looking for the crepe Caldera was eyeing. "...she wanted a 'Gelato Caramel Nut & Cream.'"

"Ah, alright," the vendor replied, beginning to prepare the ingredients. "Do you want something, as well?"

Giving the idea a thought, Aviar nodded. "Make it two."

"Okay, that will be 860," she stated with a smile. Aviar reached into a pocket and pulled out a wallet, shelling out several paper notes and handing them to the vendor. Looking through the leftover notes, a drop of sweat fell down his forehead. _I hope I don't have to spend much more money…_ he thought.

A minute or two later, the snacks were completed, neatly wrapped up in paper sheets and fitted into plastic cones. Aviar took both from the vendor and extended one to Caldera, who practically seized it out of his hand. "Now, what do we say?" he reminded her.

"Thank you!" she cheered, inciting a small laugh from the vendor.

"Thank you very much," Aviar followed up, giving the woman a wave as he turned away. As they resumed their path down the sidewalk, Aviar cast a glance towards Caldera. The way she examined her dessert like a foreign object made him snicker.

"It's yours now, you know," he reminded, beckoning to the crepe. "Go ahead and eat it."

Upon receiving the assurance, Caldera inched her mouth toward the snack little by little until she closed her lips around it. And when she did…

"WAAHHH!" she exclaimed, wolfing down the food in a succession of several swift bites. "This is so amazing! Do humans eat this all the time!"

Aviar's eyes were pressed into crescents as he laughed at Caldera's antics, not at all expecting the reaction she underwent. However, when he took a bite out of his, he found his own eyes widening at the snack. "Wow, this _is_ really good! Why don't they have this back home!?"

Before his inner food critic could take over, he heard a beep coming from his left ear. "Hey, I'm back," Seraph's voice announced.

Having forgotten he even left it in, Aviar adjusted the earpiece. "Ah, welcome back. Managed to get everything set up back there?"

"Cleaned up all the stuff I dumped on the floor, managed to get the cameras hooked up again, and got my cup of coffee prepared. Ready to rock and roll, as they say."

"No one says that…" Aviar muttered, rolling his eyes. "Oh, that reminds me. Isn't Shadow supposed to be helping us out? I haven't seen her all day."

"By all technicalities, yes, but I sent her off on errands this morning. We didn't expect the sudden encounter, so she didn't take her earpiece."

"Can't you just give her a call?" Aviar suggested. "She's always on her phone, anyway. I doubt she'll miss it."

The line fell silent for a bit, causing Aviar to raise an eyebrow until Seraph's voice came through again. "You make a compelling argument. While I do that, why don't you fill me on all that's happened?"

* * *

Shadow sauntered along the city sidewalk, clad in sneakers, jeans, and a t-shirt as she carried a plastic bag that swung with her trade. Letting her short copper hair catch a breeze, she fished for her phone and opened her shopping list. "Sweet, just a couple more things and I'm done," she mentioned, pocketing the device. Casting her blue-grey eyes about, she scanned the city surroundings. "I'm sure I can find another marketplace _somewhere_ …"

While her attention was distracted, she collided with someone in front of her, causing her to stumble. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Shadow hastily apologized after regaining her footing. However, once her bumping victim recovered, she received an unexpected response. "Velia? Wow, I didn't expect to see you here!"

Shadow blinked curiously, searching her memory for someone with a long blonde ponytail and green eyes. The face was popping up, but no names. "Have we… met? I swear I've seen you before," she eventually caved and asked.

The familiar-looking girl giggled. "I'm Cyrene, silly. We have the same homeroom at Trina High."

"Ohh! That's where I've seen you," mentally slapping herself for not knowing. "I'll be sure to remember that. I go by Shadow, by the by."

"Shadow… interesting nickname," Cyrene mused, smiling. "Anyway, I'm a little surprised to see you here, Shadow. What brings you here today?"

"Oh, y'know..." she began, lifting the plastic bag. "Just out on an errand run. Nothing too fancy. And you?"

Before Cyrene could answer, Shadow's phone began ringing in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw Seraph's contact on the screen along with her picture. "Ah, I should probably take this," she mentioned, beckoning to the device.

"Don't answer the phone."

"Huh?"

Shadow's eyes shifted back toward Cyrene, and her entire demeanor had shifted. Her soft, smiling face hardened into a deadly scowl, her eyes glaring down at her. Even if she was only a few inches taller, she suddenly became an overbearing presence with that look alone.

"I know what you are, Velia, and I'm fully aware that you work for Yggdrasil. You and your friend Aviar."

With widened eyes, Shadow took a step back. "B-But how did you…?"

"Stay out of the Helfarke's business if you want to stay off our radar. We know you've been helping Aviar in his little encounters, and we're especially annoyed by your superior's insistence on getting involved with the Rogues. Aviar is with Cataclysm as we speak, but I bet you already knew that."

Shadow was too taken aback to retaliate or even talk. Her throat paralyzed in fear at the sudden news, and that she wasn't even there to help. All her instincts told her to flee from the oppressive gaze of Cyrene, but she felt like she wouldn't be able to escape if she did.

Noticing Shadow was remaining silent, Cyrene continued. "That being said, let me establish something. If you care about your life, then you'll stay out of this today. Don't answer your phone, and don't go looking for Aviar. Just go back to your errands, and the Fireflies with leave you alone. Fail to comply, and you'll become a prime target right next to the Rogues."

Finding the words to speak, Shadow spat through her closed throat. "Seraph wouldn't let that happen."

"Think I'm bluffing? Just try it and see where it gets you."

Shadow's eyes shifted toward the ringing phone that was still in her hand. Turning the screen upward, her thumb hovered over the 'answer' and 'decline' buttons. She met Cyrene's emerald stare and looked back at the phone. A frown crept on her face, and with a finger of shaky reluctance, hit the 'decline' button.

"Good choice!" Cyrene exclaimed with a clap, her face already shifted back to its soft, pleasant form. "I'll see you around, Shadow~" she cooed, spinning on her heels and walking away.

Once she was a good block away, Cyrene tilted her head and tapped the device in her ear. "Took care of Yggdrasil's little failsafe. That should give us a little more room to work with."

"Again, that's _if_ we need to respond," the captain came through on the earpiece. "Anyway, I'll monitor Amileen's phone activity to make sure she stays quiet. Just get back to tailing them and we'll go from there."

"Already on it."

* * *

"Got some bad news," Seraph announced through Aviar's earpiece. "Shadow is not answering her phone, nor is she returning my texts."

A small band of sweat rolled down Aviar's head. "What do we do now?" he inquired, suddenly worried about the news.

"Just continue doing what you're doing, you're fine there. However, I'm more concerned about why Shadow's not responding. What in the world could this girl be doing?"

"Don't ask me. I hardly know what she's doing half the time, anyway."

An audible sigh came from the line. "I'm gonna see if I can find another way to contact her. You'll be fine, but let's hope that the Fireflies decide to chill it for today."

Their conversation ended, and Aviar continued to walk with Caldera. Before long, a faint rumbling noise emanated from the teenager, resulting in his partner to stare at him with a confused gaze. "What was that?" Caldera asked with raised eyebrows.

"Don't worry, it's just my stomach," Aviar answered with a laugh. Pulling out his phone, he checked the time. "Man, it's already 2 o'clock and I haven't since breakfast," he said while scratching the back of his head. "Probably shouldn't have eaten those crepes…"

"Really!?" Caldera exclaimed with wide eyes.

"No, no, I'm joking," Aviar assured, quelling his partner's sudden shock. "I'm a dessert first kinda guy, anyway."

He looked up and down the streets, stretching his eyesight above and around the crowds of people obscuring it. "But where can we find food?"

"There! I think…" Caldera cried, pointing a finger to place across the street. Aviar looked to where she was pointing, and sure enough, a restaurant was located there. He squinted as he read the sign on top of the building.

"I was gonna say, there was a Denny's across the street. I think it'd be nice for you to take her there," Seraph chimed in.

Aviar turned away, cupping his ear to respond. "I would agree, but there's a small little problem of 'I don't have money'."

"Pay attention."

"Huh?"

He looked back to where Caldera was standing, except she wasn't there. Heart rate kicking up, his eyes darted around until he located her: walking right across the street. With eyes widened and adrenaline pumping, he dashed toward her as a car barely tapped him, honking its horn. "Sorry!" he yelled and continued running where another vehicle almost ran into him.

"Doubly sorry!" he shouted again and finally arrived at the sidewalk where Caldera was waiting for him, entirely unscathed. His hands collapsed onto his eyes, drawing in heavy breaths. "Caldera… please…" he said between breaths. "...don't cross the street when there's no crosswalk."

"Oh! Um…" Caldera's eyes darted around as if she wasn't sure on what to say. "I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, bowing to him and holding it there.

"Yeah, that's how you apologize," Aviar chuckled once his breath was caught. He patted her head. "It's okay, I forgive you. You can stop bowing now."

"Aw, how cute. Go get her some food. You've always said you were a dinner date type."

Aviar rolled his eyes at Seraph's remark, turning away. "Didn't know if you were aware, but I don't have money!"

"What are you talking about? Yggdrasil gave us a budget to work with. We got all kinds of money for these things."

"Unless you have some magical way of getting it to me, it means nothing!"

"Aviar! How's it hanging, my dude?"

Raising an eyebrow, Aviar and Caldera turned their gaze toward the energetic greeting. Not too far down the street, the spiky-haired Omar came walking up as he waved.

"Oh great," Aviar grumbled as he looked away.

"Saw you from a ways down the road. Thought I'd catch up and…"

Omar trailed off as he caught an eyeful of Aviar's partner. He looked her up and down, noticing her outfit, flame-colored hair, and fiery eyes. A drop of sweat fell down Aviar's head as Omar's eyes turned to him, a grin starting to appear on his face. "Oh, what is _this_?" he cooed, pulling Aviar away and putting him in a headlock.

The rest of Aviar's body locked up, clearly uncomfortable at his touch. "Who knew the foreign transfer student had such a looker as his girlfriend. Are you on a date right now? This'll make for some great gossip at school," Omar continued with his toothy grin.

"She is _not_ my girlfriend!" Aviar hissed. "She's an acquaintance, and we're not on a date. I'm just showing her around the city, that's all."

"Eh… still sounds like a date to me, bud," Omar shrugged.

Aviar wrestled himself out of his grasp. "Whatever, dude," he scoffed while crossing his arms.

"Anyway, if you two are heading to fun places, I have a little suggestion," the classmate announced. He gestured to a place down the street. "You should take her to the arcade. It's just down the road a few blocks away. Huge building; can't miss it."

"Thanks… but I can't," Aviar replied, giving a nervous laugh. "Kinda don't have money."

"Well, let me fix that."

Omar reached into his pocket, pulling out a leather wallet. The action prompted Aviar to reach out with his hands. "Please, you really don't need to—"

"Nope! Don't wanna hear it!" Omar exclaimed, interrupting Aviar. He walked up and shoved the wallet into the teenager's chest. "You go take her and have some fun, alright?"

Grabbing him by the shoulders, he turned Aviar around and shoved him towards Caldera. "Just give me the wallet back on Monday. Use as much as you need to!"

Aviar spun around to protest, but Omar was already jogging down the street, too far to be called after. He sighed, scratching his head and looking at the wallet. Opening it up, he thumbed through the paper bills. _That's awfully convenient_ … he thought.

"Hey, there's your money," Seraph chimed in on the earpiece.

"Where were you during all that?" Aviar retorted.

"Same place I've always been. Now, why don't you grab that food you now have money for?"

He shook his head at Seraph's remark, looking to Caldera. She was staring in the direction that Omar took off. Her expression was wide-eyed, and head tilted. "Who was that?" she asked.

Aviar's eyes turned to where Caldera was looking, and Omar's figure growing ever fainter. "He's a friend," the teen answered.

* * *

Once the waiter had guided them to a table booth, Aviar sat down on the red leather seat. Caldera followed, sitting across from him. The waiter handed out a couple menus for them and pulled out a small notepad. "What do you want to drink?" he asked.

"I'll have some water," Aviar answered. The waiter wrote down his selection, his sleepy dark-ringed eyes not coming off the paper. "And for you?" he directed to Caldera.

"Um… I'll have a water, too," she replied with a nod.

"Okay, I'll get those for you as soon as I can," the waiter responded, barely audible. He brushed some of his bangs out of his face and walked away, feet dragging on the ground. To say he was sleep-deprived was an understatement.

However, Aviar pushed the thoughts of the waiter out of his mind and directed himself back at Caldera. "Good job!" he congratulated, reaching over and patting her on the top of her hat. "I'm so proud of you."

Caldera giggled from the attention she received. Aviar sat back down in his chair and picked up a menu and opened it up. "Now, let's figure out what we want to eat."

For the next couple minutes, the two peeled over the menu options while neither really had a clue what was on it. With the assistance of Seraph, Aviar picked out a chicken fried steak combo while Caldera went for a ham and egg sandwich, ignoring Seraph's remarks on the weirdness of eating breakfast for lunch. In the process, Aviar learned that Denny's was a worldwide chain and did not accurately portray Haloian cuisine. Caldera, on the other hand, got to see some other food categories beyond crepes.

Once they ordered their food, they patiently waited for it to arrive, without saying much. After a minute of awkward silence, Aviar whispered to Seraph. "What should I do right now?"

"I dunno, talk to her?" Seraph replied half-sarcastically. "Try to figure out more about her."

"Hey, Caldera," Aviar opened, prompting her to look at him. "Do you remember the day we first met?"

The Rogue widened her eyes a little bit, giving him a curious look. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, I was wondering about the spatial quake that happened that day."

"Spatial quake?"

"The explosion. The one that caused the massive crater where we met," Aviar clarified. "I was wondering if you… caused it."

Aviar swallowed a lump in his throat. He suddenly realized that he was afraid of the answer, and wanted to abort mid-way. However, he asked it anyway and crossed his fingers.

"Oh, that. No, that wasn't me…" Caldera answered, and Aviar let out a huge sigh of relief. "I was in that… neighborhood you said, and I noticed this huge purple thing appear out of nowhere in the distance. I went to go see it, but there was only a hole in the ground. That was when I ran into you."

"That's interesting," Seraph remarked. "I read a lot of theories going around that the spatial quake was caused by a Rogue, but I guess not. Still a weird phenomenon, though. Hey, imagine a medium with the ability to rip holes in the space-time continuum."

"I really _don't_ want to imagine that, thank you," Aviar retorted under his breath. Putting a smile back on his face, he regarded Caldera once more. "I wanted to ask something else, as well," he began. "It's about your name."

"Caldera?" she wondered, raising an eyebrow.

"No, when I first asked you your name," Aviar corrected. "You said you couldn't remember your name when I asked you. Do you really not remember it?"

Caldera's face became downtrodden as her eyes shifted downward. "No, I don't," she answered, her voice much lower in volume. "I don't remember much of anything. Where I came from, or why I'm like this."

"What do you remember?" Aviar asked, leaning forward in his seat.

Taking a breath, Caldera sighed, and her eyes shifted away as she crossed her arms. Aviar could tell it was painful for her. "I'm not sure… the earliest thing I recall is some sort of black void. I didn't feel whole, or complete, but I still felt like I was there. I remember feeling… afraid. Afraid and alone, and like something was looming over me. That feeling only got worse, and it became unbearable. Eventually, I felt so afraid that I tried to fight back somehow and used all my energy to lash out at the force. When I did, I appeared here in a flaming crater, and soon those people attacked me."

Caldera shifted in her seat, clearly uncomfortable with recounting the story. "That's all I remember," she finished.

Aviar remained silent for a few moments, still trying to process everything that he was told. "That's awful," he finally said, offering his sympathies. "I'm really sorry that happened to you."

She didn't respond, still looking away from him. Aviar sighed and turned his head. "You have any ideas?"

"I got nothing," Seraph responded. "Unless we get more information, we can't know anything for sure. What I can say is that there is definitely more to this than what she's remembering. On top of that, we still don't know what differentiates a Rogue from a normal medium, if there is any difference. Figure that out, and we'll be one step closer."

"Understood," Aviar replied, sliding a hand over his face. However, he spotted the waiter walking up the alley with a stand and large circular holder. "Hey, the food's here!" he exclaimed, and Caldera's face immediately brightened.

The two forgot about the previous conversation and took the opportunity to savor and enjoy the food they in front of them. Aviar was originally skeptical of the idea of a fried steak but found it quite delicious with the gravy that came with it. Caldera said that she loved her sandwich, but Aviar suspected she wasn't very difficult to please, anyway. They had fun talking during their meal, with Aviar constantly reminding her to chew with her mouth closed and not to speak with her mouth full. Regardless, he found it to be a relaxing experience.

With his meal finished, Aviar leaned back in his seat, sighing with a content smile. "Man, that was some good stuff," he said.

He looked over at Caldera and expected a similar reaction for her. However, she looked much different. She shifted a lot in her seat, and her eyes darted around, looking at the various waiters and waitresses traversing the restaurant. Aviar narrowed his eyes, not sure what was causing her odd behavior. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I… don't know," she answered. Her head spun around a couple times, looking around at the various other waiters and waitresses traversing the restaurant. "This is all so weird…"

"What's weird?" he continued, trying to find the source of her confusion.

"This!" she exclaimed, using two hands to gesture at the table they were sitting at. "Being… served!"

"Ohhh…" Aviar realized, following with a small laugh. "You're still not used to humans being friendly?"

"I've only known them as threats, but all of sudden everything changed today. It's all so unfamiliar, and strange. It's… weird!"

Aviar let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead. "Well, we've been over this, haven't we? Not all humans are malicious or want to kill. You've seen that earlier today, haven't you?"

"Patience, Aviar," Seraph reminded him through his earpiece. "Just try to think from her perspective and see why she would still be skeptical. It's a once bitten, twice shy kind of deal. It'll take a bit for her to warm up."

"I know," he muttered.

Aviar took a moment to think about what to say before continuing. "We have a saying: 'I'm only human.' The saying means we are imperfect, and that we always make mistakes, but we still try our hardest. I'm sorry that you had terrible experiences with humans, and I can't excuse what they did, but you can see that we all try to be good people. We all try to help and serve each other as best we can, regardless if we're successful. You can see that here, can't you?"

Caldera's eyes shifted down, and she brought her hands up from her lap and rested them on the table. She looked pensive in that pose, and Aviar hoped that he delivered his message well enough for her to understand. Her flame-colored eyes shifted back up to Aviar. She had a slight frown, and for the first time, almost looked sad.

"They treat me this way because they think I'm human?"

"No…" Aviar responded, his voice going low and trying to be comforting. "That's not it."

"Even if I do this?"

Caldera overturned one of her palms and held it open. A burst of flame sprouted from it, and Aviar reflexively shot a hand to cover up her palm so no one else saw. However, in doing so he knew he only proved her point and sighed in defeat.

"You said it yourself. Those humans tried to kill me because they're afraid of me and afraid of what I'm able to do. Only when I appear human is when they treat me like everyone else. I want to be a part of this world, I really do. But I can't do that as long as I'm not human."

"But… does that really matter?" Aviar finally retorted, causing Caldera to be taken aback somewhat.

"What do you mean?"

"Does it matter if you're truly human or not? You've seen it yourself, humans are good people who want the best for each other, even if we're flawed in certain regards. I told you I would show you that, and I have I not? Haven't you enjoyed exploring the world, and seeing how we are?"

He leaned forward, a serious look on his face. "Even if you're not human, you know that I accept you regardless. Maybe I'm rare in that regard, but you have comfort in knowing that at least I know what you are and I'm okay with it."

Caldera stuttered at his words, unable to fully form a response. "I… I-I don't know what to say…"

"Then don't say anything," he replied, a soft smile spreading across his face. "Hey, there's an arcade just down the street. I think it'll be a lot of fun. You wanna go here?"

She took a moment to respond, but Caldera smiled and nodded. "I'd love to go there."

* * *

In another spot at the restaurant, a waitress guided Cyrene to a table. It was some distance from Aviar and Caldera, but still within eyesight of them. "What would you like to drink?" asked the waitress as she handed Cyrene a menu. "We have tea, lemonade, soda…"

"Hmm…" the girl mused as she glanced over the menu. "Do you still have the pumpkin spice lattes here?"

"We do, as a matter of fact," the waitress answered with a smile.

"Great! I'll take that," Cyrene answered, regarding her with her own grin. However, her happy facial expression dropped as soon as the waitress left. She pulled out her phone and started to browse through it, often stealing glances at the two in the distant booth. "Are you still seeing this?" she asked from under her breath.

"I am, and it still confuses me," the captain answered through her earpiece. "We rarely encounter Rogues that remain docile for this long. Barring Templar, but that's a special case. What does that kid think he's doing?"

"If we want to attack, now's our chance," Cyrene declared, looking up from her phone and at Caldera. "Cataclysm is defenseless and vulnerable. She won't have time to retaliate if we take her out now. Requesting permission to mobilize."

" _Denied!_ " the captain shouted from the other end, causing her to shrink a little in her chair. "We have strict instructions to attack _only_ when there is a clear and obvious threat! We do _not_ go rogue simply because we find it convenient! We have guidelines for a reason and attacking in broad daylight without warning will only lead to further disaster. We can't risk any more leaks getting out. I thought you learned that in your last suspension!"

Cyrene didn't respond to her chastisement, her eyes lowering from Caldera and back to her phone. "We've been over this, Sergeant. Don't become so hellbent on the Rogues and remember what your primary job is. Remember what I said about hunting monsters?"

Her voice was quieter than it normally was. "Don't become the monster you're hunting."

"Good."

The soldier didn't speak any further, her eyes dropping to the table. She hardly tried to thank the waitress when she brought the coffee, and she stared at the whipped cream dusted with cinnamon. Taking a straw, she swirled it around until the cream dissolved into the dark liquid. She adjusted the mug to where she could faintly see her reflection in the light and took a sip.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the fifth chapter of this story! A bit earlier than you expected, I'm aware, but I'm really excited to have this finished. Also, I've changed the name for a third (and hopefully last!) time. During the long waits between chapters, I have a lot of time to think about the story and further develop it. Recently I made some _massive_ changes to the story, completely uprooting the existing plans and replaced them. Don't worry, none of the current chapters are affected, but all the late-game stuff has been changed. I changed the title and summary to more accurately portray the new themes I created.**

 **Another bit of news! I actually purchased a commission for Caldera, which now features as the cover image. I waited a very long time for it and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. You can view the artist's work on DeviantArt under the name ShimizuAmatuska. I would put the link, but I know FFN gets really finicky with links.**

 **Beyond that, we're coming to the conclusion of Caldera's Arc! Buckle up and get ready my friends, 'cause this is gonna be a wild one! Without further ado, onto the story!**

* * *

"Welcome to the arcade!"

Aviar's big smile and outstretched arms failed to relieve Caldera's unease. It was a rather large space without many windows, creating a moody atmosphere that contrasted with the array of multicolored lights from the machines. A variety of people populated the space, many operating the various machines present.

Caldera looked around. "What is this place?" she asked.

Aviar asked Seraph that same question a minute beforehand and had the answer prepared. "A place where you hang out and play different kinds of games. You got video games, claw machines—all kinds of stuff."

The Rogue tilted her head. "And… what are those?"

"Stop asking questions, let's go have fun!"

They found a machine that converted paper bills into coins. Using Omar's generously donated money, they prepped themselves with all the coins they would need. They searched for something to spend their coins on but weren't quite sure where to start. The problem was soon remedied when Aviar dashed to a machine.

"I remember this!" he exclaimed, looking at the game on the screen. "Seraph, this is the one we used to play all the time at home. You got it for us ages ago."

"Don't get too flooded with nostalgia," Seraph commented through the earpiece. "Remember, you have a partner."

Caldera managed to catch up with Aviar, meeting him at the game. As soon as she did, she was mesmerized by the screen. "Ooh, what's this?" she asked.

"It's a fighting game," he answered. "You take control of a character and use it to fight another. Trust me, it's fun."

"Hmm…" she mused, looking at the controls on the game. "What are these?"

"The joystick is to control movement, and the buttons are your attacks," he explained. A small smile crept onto his face when he noticed a second set of controls on the other side. He inserted a few coins into the machine. "Wanna try it?"

She gave a nod. "Let's do it."

Controls in hand, Caldera chose a character with an oversized sword and a few too many belts. Aviar had her select the 'Easy' difficulty, and the game was afoot. The first stage loaded and the enemy character rendered.

"Alright," Aviar began. "Move to the enemy and use the buttons to damage him. Try not to get hit, either."

Caldera obeyed, making her character run and launch a few attacks. The enemy retaliated, throwing out a counter-assault. "Move backward to block," Aviar instructed, and Caldera's character shielded himself from the enemy attacks.

She fared well against the first opponent, but Aviar knew it was because of difficulty settings than anything else. "There are more guys you have to fight and they'll gradually get harder and harder."

Caldera nodded, too focused to respond. She went through stage after stage, completing each one with less health as their difficulty increased. Her whiffed strikes and lack of strategy left openings which the AI exploited. Caldera was even sweating in the final fight, where she and her enemy brought each other down to critical health.

Aviar, noticing her depleted health and timer running out, stepped in. "Alright, there's something you can do called a super move. Let me take the joystick and place your hand over the third button. Press it when I tell you to."

Maneuvering around her, he grabbed the control stick and blocked against the enemy's pressure. He watched as each attack hit the shield, waiting for the final move to miss and create an opening. It was almost there, just another string of attacks and it would be perfect. Just a little more… there it was!

"Now!"

Aviar jerked the joystick and Caldera smashed the button. Their character unsheathed his sword and lunged forward, hitting the enemy in the brief window. He unleashed a flashy combo of sword strikes and powered up for a huge attack, defeating the enemy in the final blow.

 _YOU WIN!_

"That was amazing!" Caldera cried, throwing her arms upward in triumph. Aviar laughed with her in their collaborative victory. He was surprised at how she could even make a completion of a game on easy difficulty seem exciting. "How did you do that?"

"I used to play this game a lot when I was younger," he answered, smiling at the flooding memories. "I guess you could say I'm kinda good."

Caldera raised a hand to her chin. "Can I fight you?"

Aviar gave her a look. "You what?"

A smile appeared on her face as she eyed him. "I want to see if you're as good as you claim."

Checking the machine, he noticed the second set of controls that had slipped from his memory. He looked back at Caldera, shrugging as a smirk forming on his own face. "As you wish."

Aviar selected the Versus mode and took hold of his own controls. Caldera picked the same character while he navigated to his own. One wearing an overcoat and wielding two knives. The stage loaded, characters said their opening lines, and the game began.

 _FIGHT!_

* * *

 _PLAYER 2 WINS!_

Aviar wondered if he should've gone easier, but it was too late. He cast his eyes to the loser of the match. He wondered how she was going to react, whether it be an outburst or something else. However, Caldera appeared much more tranquil than he was expecting.

She turned her head, directing her narrowed eyes at him. Her were lips pressed together in a straight line. "I see… so you were hiding some combat skills from me, after all!"

"Huh?" Aviar regarded her with a raised eyebrow.

"I was right, human! You said to me that you weren't a threat, but then how do you explain this!" she exclaimed, pointing at the screen of the arcade game.

Aviar had no clue if she was seriously accusing him of something, playing a very weird joke, was just that competitive, or if it was a weird combination of all those things. He chuckled nervously as he tried to address her point.

"T-This is just a game. It doesn't hurt you in any way, and it's nothing serious. It's just harmless fun, alright? Nothing to get worked up about."

"Hmm…" Caldera mused, drawing her face closer to his. Aviar found it hard to keep his eyes on hers. He felt like he was being judged somehow. "Very well," she nodded, turning away from him and looking around at the arcade. "What other games are here?"

Aviar let out the breath he was holding. "Crisis averted."

* * *

Stepping back through the front doors of the arcade, Aviar squinted at the sudden onslaught of the afternoon sun. He stretched his arms above his head. "Well, that was fun," he said to Caldera as they began to walk along the street. "Sorry we weren't able to get anything from the claw machine. Those things are probably rigged, anyway."

"Yeah, that was fun!" was Caldera's cheery answer. "I had no idea humans had so many wonderful things. I'm so glad I was able to see them today."

"Good thing you believed me, huh?" Aviar chuckled, referencing their previous encounters. "And we're not even done yet! There are still some things I want to show you."

"Yeah… I did," Caldera replied, her voice much lower. Her head dipped, concealing her face with the rim of her hat. Aviar noticed the action and moved to stand in front of her. "Hey, what's wrong?" he inquired.

"You weren't lying to me, and despite you clearly taking my side I still rejected the kindness you showed me. I even tried to kill you. For that… I'm sorry."

A small smile appeared on Aviar's face as he chuckled. He rested a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not mad at you."

Caldera glanced at Aviar's hand with a curious gaze, studying it for a bit before looking back up at him. "You're not?" she asked. Her eyes were big and she had a small frown, much like how she looked in the restaurant. Aviar hated that look.

"Of course not," he assured. "Remember what I said about making mistakes? That was a mistake you made, but you fixed it by going with me anyway and apologizing. Now, you're all the better for it."

He laughed as a thought came to mind. "Seems you're more human than you thought."

Caldera's eyes shifted, a smile spreading across her lips. "I… suppose."

"Av...iar…"

Seraph's fragmented voice came along with a flood of static, obscuring the message. Aviar fiddled with the earpiece but couldn't get any clearer reception. He turned his gaze to Caldera, who watched him with an odd expression. "I have to take care of something. I need to you stay here, okay? I'll be back soon, I promise."

Before Caldera could object, Aviar jogged away on the sidewalk. As he moved away the connection smoothed out more and more until he swerved into an alleyway, where the line was loud and clear. "I hear you, Seraph. What's going on?"

"Why did you leave Caldera!?" was her immediate response, sounding much angrier than Aviar expected.

"I was moving to get better reception. I didn't know how Caldera would've reacted if she found out that I was talking to someone. She might've seen it as breaking her trust, or something."

"You didn't have bad reception! I messed up the connection and I was trying to stop you while I was fixing it!"

Upon hearing the news, Aviar rubbed his forehead while groaning at his own stupidity. Seraph sighed on the line and continued. "Whatever, I'll just keep an eye on her for now. What I was trying to tell you is that you're being followed."

Aviar immediately put his hand down. "Followed? By…"

As his eyes bothered to process to his surroundings, he noticed someone else was with him in the alleyway. "...who?" he finished, staring wide-eyed at the person crouching by the wall across from him. One glance at her blonde hair and green eyes was enough to recognize her.

"Hey, Cyrene…" he began, a nervous chuckle escaping him. "What's new with you?"

* * *

Caldera hadn't moved an inch from where Aviar told her to stay. She had to defy every instinct in her body to do so but she managed. Holding her hands back her back, she swayed on her heels as she looked to where he ran off. "I hope he comes back soon," she mumbled.

She noticed several groups of people walking past her and realized she was on her own. Without Aviar, they felt large and oppressive. Like if she were a child being trampled under a crowd. She withdrew from the walkway until she ran into a wall, where she let the rim of her hat conceal her face.

"Can I really fit in this world?" she wondered to herself. "I feel like an outcast again."

Upon saying that last sentence, she hummed a bit. "He said he knew what that was like—to be an outcast. What did he mean by that?"

A gust of wind blew through the hair, billowing her dress and causing her hair to wave. Her eyes were drawn to the nearby people as a smile appeared on her face. "I guess that doesn't matter," she concluded, thinking back to all the experiences they shared in the past few hours. "He's done so much for me, anyway."

No longer feeling quite as shy as before, she kept her face exposed as her smile lingered. She continued to watch the people pass by, analyzing each of their unique faces and wondered what their stories were.

"Hey."

"Hello!" she called back by reflex, giving a bow. Afterward, she looked up to see who had greeted her.

It was a man around the age of a young adult, his black hair slicked back with a little too much hair gel. He wore a small pair of black earrings and had a strut to his walk as he approached Caldera. Upon reaching her, he inserted his hands into the pockets of his denim jacket.

"Saw you down from the street," he said, jerking his head in that direction. "Have to say, you are lookin' _fantastic_."

Caldera giggled at his words. "Thank you," she responded, giving a small bow.

He eyed her reaction a bit curiously but continued. "Anyway, I was thinking you and I could go get a drink. Then maybe… I dunno… come back to my place? Whaddya say?"

"Uh…" Caldera trailed off, looking away. "I… don't know what you mean," she admitted sheepishly.

The man reared his head back, raising an eyebrow at Caldera's words. He shook his head and regarded her once more. "Huh. I mean, a beauty like you must've seen at least some action before. Are you with someone?"

Caldera scanned the surrounding area, seeing that nobody else was standing by the building. "No... I'm just with you," she responded, not sure how she should have answered the question.

The man spun around, groaning in frustration. "How sheltered are you?" he asked more to himself than to her. Letting out a sigh, he looked back at the girl. "Hmm… have you ever kissed anyone? Little peck on your crush, maybe?"

"I don't know what that is, either. I'm sorry…" Caldera responded. She wore a smile, but her eyes looked apologetic for all the things she didn't know. She felt bad that she couldn't answer the questions sent her way.

"Why am I not surprised?" he chuckled in disbelief as he covered his face with a hand. He groaned as his hand slid. "Man, this is ridiculous."

He lowered his hand from his face and guided his eyes to Caldera's. A smirk crept across his lips and she gave him a confused look. "Tell ya what, darling. Let's change that."

He stepped forward and seized her left hand. She recoiled at his touch but he grabbed her neck and pulled her closer to him. Caldera's face distorted in shock and horror, eyes wide open and mouth agape. Unsure what to do, she watched as the man's face advanced closer, his lips inching nearer and nearer to hers…

* * *

"Oh. Hello," Cyrene responded, her voice sounding like she wasn't pleased to see him. Pocketing her phone, she rose from her crouched position and regarded Aviar with a hard glare. "You've proved to be quite a nuisance. Yggdrasil's meddling in the Helfarke's affairs has put us at odds."

Aviar's eyes widened as he tried to back away, the wall behind him thwarting his efforts. "How did you know I'm with Yggdrasil?"

Cyrene didn't respond to his question. Rather, she took a step forward and continued to glare. "For that, I must eliminate you before you intervene with my mission any further."

A knife dropped from her coat sleeve and into her hand. Sweat rolled down his forehead at the sight. He glued himself to the wall behind him, preparing to sprint away at any moment. She took another step forward and right as Aviar was about to book it, she stepped back.

Her facial expression shifted as she turned her head away, raising a hand to her ear. Aviar stared at her with a raised brow, not sure if he should still run or if he was safe. Still paralyzed from his fear, Cyrene turned her eyes back to him. She sheathed the knife in her peacoat.

"Lucky you," she remarked as she turned away and walked from the alleyway. "You get to continue unharmed."

Right before she left the alley she cast one last glare at him. " _For now._ "

When Cyrene was completely out of view, Aviar let out all his stress in one huge breath. "How can a blonde school idol be so damn terrifying?" he mumbled to no one in particular. He rose a hand to his earpiece. "See? This is why we need Shadow."

"Get to Caldera. Quickly!" came Seraph's frantic voice over the line.

Aviar's relief turned to fear once more. "What? What's going on?"

"Just shut up and do it!" she snapped.

Aviar sprinted out of the alley and back on the street. Adrenaline pumping, he sped to where he left Caldera. She and the man the man with her came into view. Caldera's extended hand held a flaming orb as fire wrapped around her arm. He pushed himself to sprint even faster at the sight.

Shouting as he approached them, Aviar seized Caldera's extended arm wrenched it away from the man. The conjured fireball erupted into the air, exploding into a brilliant display of dancing flame and fireworks, dissipating soon after. Had he been one second too late the man would've taken the entire explosion directly to his face.

The man was unharmed but his whole body trembled, eyes stapled open in shock and standing a few feet away from them. Aviar glanced at him then back to Caldera, who was cowering beside him. "What was he doing to you?" he demanded.

Caldera didn't respond immediately, staring wide-eyed at the black-haired man in front of them, almost in fear. She kept touching her lips with her fingers. "I… don't know…" she finally answered between breaths.

Aviar guessed what had happened. Before he could get angry, however, he caught an eyeful of their surroundings. The crowds of people traversing the sidewalk stopped in their tracks and stared at the two, creating a ring of judgmental eyes. When Aviar looked back at the man he spun on his heels and sprinted away without a word.

Quickly surveying the people, Aviar shook his head and snatched Caldera's hand. "C'mon, we have to go. We can't stay here," he ushered as he dragged her along, uttering various curses under his breath. The people moved away as he advanced past them, retreating from what felt like a crime scene.

* * *

"Will that be enough?" Cyrene asked, holding out her cell phone with the camera app running.

"Wasn't enough to trigger the alarm, but it may be what's needed to convince the higher-ups for mobilization. It was caught on a couple surveillance cameras, so that'll make it easier," the captain explained through her earpiece.

"And the witnesses?"

"Don't worry about them. Intelligence will take care of that."

"Do I keep tailing them?"

"No. Head to the nearest deploy station and suit up. The rest of us back here will keep an eye on them. We'll guide you to them once you're ready to move in."

"Understood."

Cyrene turned and disappeared into the reforming stream of civilians on the road, all having recovered from the shock of the incident. As the crowds of people resumed their daily activity, the city felt normal once again. Even if it was just for a moment.

* * *

The late afternoon hours crept forward and the sun dipped lower and lower in the sky. The bright blue sky shifted to hues of orange and pink, rolls of clouds moving into view with the gusts of wind. Trees still held their green leaves, not yet turning to the picturesque yellows, oranges, and reds of autumn weather. Combine the landscape with the sunset and it was really a sight to behold.

"Wow… that's so amazing!" Caldera exclaimed, gazing toward said sunset.

"It really is," Aviar agreed.

After the fiasco that occurred earlier that afternoon, Aviar pulled Caldera away from downtown for a while. They left the densely populated district and traveled to the hills on the outskirts of the city. While not super large, they still had some impressive size. Aviar brought her to a park where they found an excellent view of the city below, the sun beginning to touch the horizon.

Leaning forward, he rested his arms on the guardrail between them and the steep drop. Together they stood in silence, admiring the sunset and enjoying the view. It was a truly tranquil moment for them. No sounds but the wind ruffling the trees, no chatter of nearby people, no worry of being followed. It was just them enjoying the moment together.

In the minutes of silence, Aviar turned his gaze to Caldera beside him, who was mesmerized by the view. For the first time that day he was able to look at her without fear of what rash decision she may make, and took the time to soak her in. When he did that, he realized Omar was right. She was beautiful. Her face looked so soft and delicate, and her eyes were a perfect splash of color you could easily get lost in. Her smile looked so adorable, and it seemed to brighten her face. Her skirted dress only enhanced her look, appearing so elegant with her long and vibrant hair. Maybe one day a lucky guy would be her boyfriend.

Aviar pushed the thoughts away from his mind, turning away. He frowned. Now was not the time to be thinking about that. He made a vow to help her, and he was going to see it through. For the most part, he was successful in delivering that promise.

He sighed, breaking the silence. "I'm really sorry that happened to you," Aviar spoke, referring to the earlier incident. "I shouldn't have left you there like that," he continued, rubbing his forehead and sighing. "I was so stupid."

Aviar buried his head in his arms. Caldera turned to him, offering a sympathetic gaze as she reached a hand toward him. She gently laid it on his shoulder where he twitched at her touch. Raising his head, he met her eyes. They seemed to soothe him.

"You said it yourself," Caldera said. "It was a mistake. You told me we all make mistakes. So, I…" her eyes shifted away as she tried to remember what to say. "...forgive you."

Aviar chuckled, looking away. He realized she mimicked the same thing he did to her, right down to the hand on the shoulder and proclamation of forgiveness. She had used his own words against him, telling him to follow his own advice. With a newfound smile, he continued to watch the sunset.

"Thanks. Anyway, I promised I would show you that no everyone was trying to kill you. Do you think I did okay?" he inquired with a laugh, looking back at her.

"Yes," she responded, still gazing at the sunset. "This world is so much better than I could have ever imagined. I never thought that humans could be so kind and wonderful. It never occurred to me that everything could be so… beautiful. It makes me wish that I could be a part of it."

Aviar raised an eyebrow at the final comment, noticing the gloominess in her face that wasn't there before. Her voice had gone low and her eyes turned somber, as well. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"You've done so much for me and I've had a lot of fun today. However, the longer I stay here, the more I realize that I don't belong here."

Before Aviar could object she continued. "I think I understand why the humans want me dead. They view me as an outsider because of what I am. They're afraid of what I'm able to do and it how I might ruin their world. Now I see why. With a world as beautiful as this, who wouldn't want to protect it? From someone who destroys it like me."

She looked down at her hands, closing them into fists. "As long as I'm not human, I can never be accepted. No matter how much I want to be."

Aviar had stopped looking at her by the time she finished speaking. His grip on the guardrail tightened and his brown hair shadowed his eyes. He almost shook in aggravation of what she said. It just felt… incorrect. He wanted to say 'No, you're wrong,' or 'That's not true,' but the words refused to come to him.

Together they stood in silence, but the air around retained its solemn aura. Caldera turned to Aviar, who was still staring blankly. "I remember something you said to me… and it confused me. You said that you knew what it was like to be an outcast and that you knew my pain."

She tilted her head. "However, you seem… normal. You fitted in well with the other humans and they didn't hate you or try to kill you. What did you mean by that?"

Aviar smiled. That was the question he needed. He felt the blockage in his throat disappear as he chuckled. "That's funny," he said. "Because the truth is… I'm not actually human."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"Surprised?" he laughed. "I'm just like you. I have special abilities I can't explain. Although, I'm not from here. I grew up in a distant land with other people like you and I. Our powers meant a lot to us and we constantly trained to control and harness our abilities."

He rubbed his forehead before continuing. "Me, on the other hand? Nothing. Sometimes it worked but I could never develop control of the powers I'm supposed to have. So, I watched as my friends showed off their cool abilities while I had to stand back and watch, feeling like a failure for it."

Taking his hand away, he smiled at her. "I don't know all of your pain but I know what's it like to be an outsider in your own home. When I came here, I ended up fitting in with humans more than I ever did with my own kind."

Aviar turned to her and took her hands into his. Caldera gasped, unsure of how to take Aviar's action. She looked up from her hands and at him, where he stared into her fiery eyes. "If I can be accepted in this world, then I promise you can, too."

"But… I'm not—"

"That. Doesn't. Matter," he interrupted. "You love this world, don't you? It doesn't matter if you're not human or if people have tried to kill you, you can still be a part of this. I am living proof that it's possible. If you want a home, then I will go to the ends of Gaia to make that possible. No matter the struggle, I will always help you and be there for you."

His grip on her hands tightened. "Even if everyone else sees you as an outsider, at least know that I will always accept you. If I have to stand alone against the world, then so be it because I will never abandon you."

Emotion flooded over Caldera's face as tears welled up in her eyes. Her head dipped as she sobbed, never having felt so elated. "Thank you…" she choked between sobs. "...so much…"

Aviar smiled at her. He was happy to see her in that overjoyed state and moved to hug her. However, an invasive thought flashed across his mind. This seemed familiar. Too familiar, in fact. He raced through his mind, identifying what caused the feeling. Straining his memory, he searched for whatever it was until…

The dream! That's what it was! The recent events resembled those of the dream with uncanny accuracy. He remembered reaching his hand out to the purple-haired girl and saw a muzzle flash before waking up. If reality was mimicking that dream, then he'd be seeing a flash right about now.

Aviar's eyes shot to the distant hills, scanning the scenery for that muzzle flash. The landscape didn't resemble their form in the dream but he surveyed them anyway, waiting for it to occur. Seeing no flash, he felt a little relieved. Uneasiness still ate away at him, however, and he didn't know why.

Seraph had been quiet, which he was grateful for, but it was strange for her. Aviar let go of Caldera's hands. "Hey Seraph," he muttered. "What's the status on…"

"Above you!" she cried.

His head switched upward where he saw a figure plummeting toward him. Reflexively, his arms shot up where something sliced across his hand. He yelped at the sudden burning and snatched his hand away. It stabbed into his abdomen, forcing a yell out of his lungs before he took a blow to the chest. He flew into the metal railing and onto the ground as he cried out.

"Aviar!" Caldera shouted, her eyes wide in horror.

"Guah…" he hissed. He moved to rise but shouted as a sudden onslaught of pain shot through him. A hand raced to the throbbing wound in his stomach, clutching it as his teeth gritted. The area was damp and felt like he touched a wet countertop. Looking down at his hand, he gasped when it was covered in blood. The red liquid also seeped from the gash in his other palm.

Aviar hissed again as the burning rose and fell in intensity. Any movement seemed to agitate the wound even further, keeping him grounded. The most he could do is sit and suffer through it until he could attempt moving again. Wasn't lethal, but it hurt like hell.

"Crap, are you alright!?" Seraph exclaimed.

"I'm fine…" he grunted, heaving heavy breaths in and out of his chest. He choked out a weak chuckle. "...I think."

He looked up from his wound, eyes widening at the sight. Cyrene stood in front of him, this time complete in her Firefly Unit. Adorned in black metal and with a red visor covering her face, her long blonde hair spilling out the back of her helmet. "Hmph," she scoffed, casting the bloodied knife at Aviar's feet.

His teeth gritted in anger as his eyes narrowed. "Cyrene…" he growled.

"I warned you, Aviar," she reminded him, her voice a bit distorted from the augmentation of her helmet. "You can only blame yourself for this."

She turned away from him and to Caldera, who still stood terrified at the sight. She reached for her shoulder and pulled out a handle. Flicking it, a green laser blade materialized from the end. A strong gust kicked up, blowing Caldera's black sun hat off her head. "No one to save you now…"

Aviar could only watch as she gripped the handle with both hands, preparing to swing. He threw a hand forward as his eyes enlarged in abject horror. "NOOOO!"

"Tyrfing!"

The plasma blade collided with the flaming sword in Caldera's hands. Her brows were furrowed and her teeth were gritted. Her eyes seemed to glow, burning holes into Cyrene's visor. "You…" she snarled. She pushed her blade aside and detonated a fireball point-blank, launching Cyrene away. "I've had enough of you!"

A cyclone of flames burst underneath Caldera's feet, wrapping around her body before dissipating. She stood complete in her Coat of Arms, the same armor that Aviar first saw her in. "I was having fun…" she continued, holding Tyrfing forward. "It was such a wonderful day. For the first time, I was able to experience this world. I even made a friend."

She visibly shook in anger, the fury in her face evident through her contorted expression. Her eyes literally glowed and flames began to flare around her gauntlets. "But you ruined _all_ of it! I've done nothing to you but you still want me dead!" she shrieked.

The soldier had recovered from the blast, back to her feet some distance away with the laser blade in hand. Caldera held her glare and kept her sword pointed. "So, if you can't leave me alone…" she started. "Then I'll just have to kill you!"

Aviar paled at the statement. From her facial expression alone, he could see she was serious. She would forego everything he taught her and stop at nothing to kill someone, only justifying the Fireflies' actions in the process. "Caldera!" he shouted. "Please don't do this!"

Ignoring his plea, Caldera plunged Tyrfing into the ground. Cyrene sped toward her with her blade at the ready. Caldera's hair began to wave as her eyes glowed, and her armor gleamed brighter than before. "Come! Help me unleash a calamity!" she shouted, flames bursting from the sword's concrete sheathe. Unable to move, Aviar covered himself as best he could.

" **Dyrnwin!** "

A massive pulse of flame discharged from the weapon, wrapping everything in the park in a brief flash of fire. The trees and nearby foliage were set ablaze and it horribly scorched the ground. Uncovering himself, Aviar stared wide-eyed at the damage surrounding him. He looked down at his shaking, bloodied hands. He wondered how the hell he survived that blast unscathed, not even noticing the black particles that floated around his form.

"Crap, crap, _crap!_ " Seraph shouted in his earpiece. "Just hang tight, I'll be there as soon as I can!"

Aviar heard the line cut between them, but it hardly registered in comparison to what he saw. Caldera held a massive sword about her own length. Its thick blade had the appearance of amalgamated stone and metal as red-orange veins smoldered and pulsated through it. Like magma was flowing through the weapon. It was far too large for a girl her size to conceivably wield. Or anyone else, for that matter.

An aura of flames materialized and surrounded her body, partially cloaking her form in fire. Her hair flowed like a living fire, and her eyes continued to literally glow in their brilliant color. "Oh, no..." Aviar muttered as he beheld the sight before him. Even if he didn't have powers, Aviar could feel the magic flowing from her like smoke belched from the flame.

"Now," she hissed, adjusting the massive blade as she prepared to swing it. "You die!"

Cyrene, who had also survived the initial blast, almost appeared taken aback by Caldera's new appearance. It was hard to tell, thanks to her helmet but there was uncertainty in the way she shifted her body. Nevertheless, she energized her laser blade and readied herself. The Rogue swung Dyrnwin, sending a wave of flame toward her. Cyrene lept over it and sped to her.

Pulling the sword back, Caldera slammed it into the ground with an explosion of lava. The soldier maneuvered around the attack and struck her a few times with the laser blade. Cyrene dodged another swing that cleaved through a tree, taking to the skies and avoiding an empowered swing.

At this point, Aviar had noticed droplets of flame appearing on the ground from seemingly nowhere. Looking up, he found its source. Literal globs of liquid fire dropped from the clouds above them like a rainstorm. Eyes widening at the sight, Aviar awkwardly shifted and maneuvered around the dropping flames, limited by the stinging of his injury.

Caldera growled at Cyrene hovering in the air and stomped her foot. A row of fissures cracked toward her location and erupted into a massive geyser of lava. Avoiding the geyser, Cyrene fired her hook at the Rogue and sped toward her, kicking her in the face. Dazed, Caldera grabbed the soldier's foot and slammed her into the ground. Cyrene rolled away before Dyrnwin collapsed on her, creating another lava explosion.

She barely got to her feet before Caldera continued her assault, viciously swinging the massive sword as Cyrene ducked, lept, or otherwise dodged it. The blade hacked through any structure that stood in its way, launching pieces of concrete as Cyrene maneuvered around the environment. With her laser weapon in hand, she deflected several strikes of the huge blade until she hit a perfect parry, catching Dyrnwin with her weapon.

As their swords held, Dyrnwin's edge began to glow and smolder in an orange-red color as the radiance of its molten veins also intensified. The luminous components brightened into a flash as the entire blade detonated in a great explosion. Cyrene was flung away from the blast, colliding with the ground and sliding some distance away. The handle of her laser blade landed near her, split in two and sparking with loose electricity.

The soldier rose to her feet, slower than she had previously. Her suit cracked in several places and the visor was scratched up, but it was still intact. Caldera still held Dyrnwin in her hands, which she slammed into the ground. Cyrene activated her jetpack to avoid that trail of flames that raced to her. Her main weapon disabled, she resorted to staying in the air.

Caldera swung her weapon at her. The soldier dodged the fire strike and subsequent explosion where she activated her arm-mounted guns, pelting the Rogue with bullets. More enraged than harmed, Caldera kept swinging the blade at Cyrene as she swept around the air. The Rogue only succeeded in destroying the battlefield even more through her whiffed strikes and indiscriminate explosions, all the while more liquid flame fell from the sky, starting to melt into the concrete.

Aviar had since found shelter under a still-intact sunroof in the park that seemed to be flame-retardant. He was some distance away from the action, still watching silently at the destruction ongoing before him. Cyrene's turrets clicked as they ran out of ammunition. Unholstering her sidearm, she continued blasting away at Caldera until it also exhausted its bullets.

The Rogue appeared just as fine as before, or just wasn't showing it. Cyrene continued to maneuver around her relentless assault with nothing left. Her suit sparked with green electricity, coursing through the metal plating and into her arm. She fired the grappling hook, charged with the surging energy. Caldera side-stepped it, where it attached to the ground and lost its charge.

Seizing the grounded line, the Rogue jerked Cyrene to the ground, severing a wing of her suit with a swing of Dyrnwin. Cyrene turned to Caldera where she received a savage punch to the face. Stumbling away, the Rogue swung the colossal blade again, striking Cyrene right across her face.

The complete front of her helmet shattered as the force flung her away, where she lifelessly tumbled and rolled to a stop, many components of her suit broken off. Her body remained still, not even attempting to rise from the ground.

The flaming rain ceased falling, but Caldera still held the giant blade and was still coated with a fiery aura. She stepped forward, not uttering a word, and advanced to Cyrene's unconscious form. Aviar stumbled from underneath his shelter, barely able to stand on his weak legs. "Caldera!" he yelled, still clutching his wound.

She didn't seem to hear him, not stopping, twitching, or turning around to look at him. Grabbing Dyrnwin with both hands, she began to lift it. Aviar's pupils narrowed as she did. "No!" he shouted as he hobbled closer. "Don't do this!"

His pleas continued to fall on deaf ears, and Caldera kept raising the sword. "If you kill her, there's no going back! It's something you can't apologize for!" he tried to warn. "Don't be the monster she thinks you are!"

But the Rogue kept going, Dyrnwin well above her head and ready to fall on the soldier. " _Caldera!_ " Aviar cried. His legs gave way and he collapsed onto his knees. Looking up he saw the edge of the giant sword start to glow. His heart sank into his stomach at the sight, eyes stapled wide and breathing shakily. In his panic he didn't see the black energy swirling around him, flowing like a dark flame.

He watched as the blade's molten veins intensified in their color, and Caldera started to swing it downward.

 _STOOOOOPPPP!_

An inky black disk flew from the hand Aviar smashed the ground with. It flew forward pierced through Caldera, cleansing her of the flaming aura and disintegrating her massive weapon in the process. Weakened, she fell to her knees and collapsed onto her side. Seeing what had happened, Aviar stared at his hands in unbelief. "How the hell did I do that…?" he muttered.

Shaking his head, he crawled over to Caldera and rolled her onto her back. Her eyes were closed and were generally unresponsive. He checked her pulse and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt it. However, her breathing felt low and shallow and felt more infrequent than it should've been.

Aviar stared at her sleeping face, not sure what he should do. He noticed how pleasant it looked when it wasn't contorted in anger or rage. He sighed, grateful that he somehow managed to end the recent confrontation. His eyes drifted back to her face where they stopped on her soft, pink lips.

 _Kiss her._

He scoffed at the intrusive thought that infiltrated his mind. Immediately, he shoved it away. It was ridiculous to think about that, especially in the current circumstance. Chuckling to himself, he shook his head and continued to examine Caldera. However, he noticed her breathing became even less frequent and her face began to pale.

 _You can save her. You just have to kiss her._

It didn't even feel like his own thought that time. It felt like an invisible companion or a distant mentor imploring him to act. It confused him. Was she dying? How would a kiss help? He thought his first kiss would be reserved for someone he loved. To say he loved Caldera was laughable. They only met a few days prior, it would be impossible.

As the thoughts raced through Aviar's head, seeds of worry started to settle within him as he watched her declining health. With no better options, he leaned closer to her face before stopping. He never kissed anyone before, so he wasn't quite sure how to do it, but he hoped whatever he did would suffice. "Sorry…" he whispered. Closing his eyes, he brought his lips to hers.

* * *

 _He let go of the kiss, staring back into the crystal eyes of the girl. Nothing else registered to him. Not the ravaged scenery, not the fact that they were hovering high in the air, nor the fact that her outfit began to dissolve into light. He was happy just like that, losing himself in her as they began their lofty descent._

 _He could stare at that beautiful face for an eternity, forever lost in her eyes and plum-colored hair. Her name echoed in his mind like he hadn't recalled it in years, but his lips were used to saying it. As they touched the ground, he seized the thought and finally recalled her name. A smile came to his lips and he spoke it…_

* * *

"Tohka."

Aviar pulled away from Caldera, looking at her as if she were that purple-haired girl. However, when his eyes adjusted, and he saw her face, his expression shifted to one of utter confusion. "What…?" he exclaimed as his eyes widened, wondering why he just addressed Caldera by that name and what that whole vision was about.

However, his confusion was halted when he saw the girl lying in front of him. Her eyelids twitched a bit, fluttering up and down before they opened completely. Aviar chuckled, happy to see her awake. She turned her head to him, looking into him with her flame-colored eyes. "Shido…" she uttered.

Upon saying that, Caldera gasped. A light started to form at her chest, and she began to scream and shriek in complete agony. Aviar scurried away, simultaneously frightened and concerned at what was happening. Her back arched as her fists clenched, the light in her chest intensifying along with her cries.

At the peak of Caldera's screaming, something shot out of her chest. Her shrieks squirming suddenly stopped. After lying still for a moment, her armor combusted into flame, soon completely burning away. Underneath she was adorned only in a short nightgown.

Aviar's eyes were drawn to a small object floating above Caldera's sleeping form. He rose to his feet, oblivious to the pain in his stomach and approached it. Reaching out, he snatched the object and examined it more closely.

It seemed to be a shard of some kind. It had two jagged points at each end and a bulging center. It looked like a blackened fragment of rock with molten veins, like Dyrnwin's blade, with a glowing magma center. The center would pulse, sending a wave of light through the miniature magma flows like a heart.

 **"We meet again, Aviar."**

Startled by the sudden voice, he whipped around to face it. However, his tension wasn't quelled when he saw the figure standing there. They wore a black long-sleeved garb or coat with thick leather gloves and boots. A hood was pulled over their heads and a bird mask concealed their facial features. Finally, a cloak of black feathers hung from their shoulders.

 **"Do not be alarmed. I am not here to hurt you."**

Their voice echoed and reverberated with a metallic shroud, but sounded presumably male, and the of their features were concealed by the clothing. Aviar took a deep breath and tried to relax but kept wary eyes on the figure. "Who are you?" Aviar asked him.

 **"I am the one who spoke to you after you first met Cataclysm. Although, I believe you call her Caldera now."**

Aviar mulled over the encounter in his head, unable to recall a plague doctor figure anywhere. He remembered the duel with Cyrene, the giant fireball Caldera created and then passing out. However, it clicked when he remembered the voice in his dream. The same metallic, echo-y voice of this figure.

"That dream…" Aviar started, rubbing his head. "...the one where you asked my name, that was you?"

He nodded. **"I apologize for my abruptness, but I had to make our meeting short."**

Aviar breathed, not sure what to say. His mind burned with so many questions from their previous encounter, but he still didn't quite trust whoever this was. In his silence, the figure turned his head turned to Aviar's hand, eyes invisible behind the black sockets of the mask. **"I must congratulate you, Aviar. You've cured her."**

Aviar looked at his hand, seeing that he was still clutching the strange shard that was ejected from Caldera. Looking up, he gave the figure a confused look. "Cured?"

 **"Now,"** he said, reaching out with his gloved palm. **"Hand it over."**

Reflexively, Aviar stepped away. He didn't even know what the strange object was, and the fact that this figure was demanding for it did not sit well with him. "What even is this thing?" he inquired, narrowing his eyes. "And why do you want it so badly?"

 **"That thing is a disease,"** he answered. **"It was the source of Caldera's volatile and destructive magic, but you cured her of it. If you never want it to hurt her again, you must give it to me."**

Aviar still eyed the figure, looking at his still-outstretched arm. He fiddled with the shard in his hand, remaining completely still and not planning to give anything anytime soon.

The figure appeared to sigh. **"I know you don't believe me, Aviar, but you have to trust that I'm on your side. I don't want Caldera to be plagued with this any more than you, and this is the only way I can guarantee that."**

Aviar looked at him one more time. **"Quickly. Before she comes."**

He could very well be lying to him, Aviar knew that. At the same time, he may not be lying and truly wanted to help. It was just impossible to tell. Aviar looked at the artifact in his hand, and back up at the figure. He felt like he wasn't able to refuse and still wasn't sure why the figure wanted it. However, if meant an end to Caldera's pain, it would be a good trade.

With a shaky step and a trembling hand, he placed the object in the figure's hand.

Pulling his hand back, the figure closed his fingers around the shard. It crumbled into black dust and was seemingly absorbed into him. **"You've made a wise choice, Aviar."**

Aviar frowned, doubting the accuracy of that claim. He simply hoped that his decision wasn't as terrible as he thought it was. His thoughts fluttered to their previous encounter, but he recalled the weird vision he had afterward. The one with the purple-haired girl. The one he called 'Tohka.' The thought also sparked the memory of Caldera, who called him by a strange name, too.

He gasped when he remembered it was the same name the figure mentioned.

"When we first met, I remember you telling me that I should remember a name," Aviar declared. "I think… it was Shido."

He looked up at the stranger. "Who is this Shido? And who is Tohka?"

The figure remained silent as if he were reminiscing. **"I don't remember. I recall his name but nothing of his identity. Perhaps I once knew him, but I only have a recollection of his importance. Tohka is the same."**

Aviar scoffed. "If you don't remember, then how am I supposed to?"

 **"That girl, Tohka. What did you feel when you see her?"**

He sighed, scratching his head as he brought up the memory. "I was happy, I guess. She was beautiful, and I wanted to stay with her forever. I felt like I would anything for her, even taking a bullet. Literally."

He hesitated before continuing. "I… loved her."

 **"Those feelings aren't yours."** the figure declared. **"What you saw weren't visions. They were Shido's memories. His recollections, his experiences. Tohka… she sounded like someone special to him."**

Aviar fell silent, thinking back on those experiences with the purple-haired girl named Tohka. Someone else's memories? But they felt so real. Surreal, in fact. He found it difficult to grasp the concept.

 **"That is the key, Aviar. You can relive his memories. You alone can uncover his identity and learn who he was."**

He looked up at the figure with a confused expression, something not registering to him. "But… why? What's so important about him?"

 **"Because he was forgotten. Ever wondered why he isn't standing before you and only our fragmented memories remain? I view this as an omen, a warning for the future to learn the past. I fear that lest we learn his story, we shall share his fate."**

Aviar froze at the news, unable to respond. He was left puzzled at his words, pondering what this 'fate' was and how Shido was even tied to it. It left a million questions circling around in his head. The figure spread his arms apart, a black rod forming from his hands and solidifying into a cane.

 **"That void within you, those feelings of worthlessness. He can answer for it. You just have to look."**

He tapped the ground with his cane, and a black pool formed underneath his feet. **"Best hurry, Aviar. Time is running short. For the both of us."**

"Wait!" Aviar cried, reaching out a hand. A million questions raced through his head and he wanted to ask them all. He took a breath, calmed himself down, and formulated at least one question to ask. "Who are you? Really?"

The figure began to sink into the black pool underneath his feet. **"In due time, child. In due time."**

His head disappeared beneath the pit and it closed after him, leaving an ordinary section of concrete. Aviar took a step back, inhaling a shaky breath. So much had happened in such a short amount of time and his head was having trouble processing it all. He rubbed his forehead to soothe it.

"Aviar!"

He spun around at the voice, and he saw Shadow had appeared on the walkway. She was adorned in her own Coat of Arms, complete in the cloak and hood she showed off earlier that week. Dashing to Aviar, she threw her arms around him, causing him to cry out at the sudden stinging of his stab wound.

"Thank God you're okay…" she sobbed, burying her head in his chest. "...I was so worried."

"Yeah, I'm alright. I think…" Aviar chuckled. "What happened? Seraph and I were wondering about you all day."

"Cyrene…" Shadow answered between sobs. "...she threatened to kill me if I went to you or Seraph. I was so scared… I didn't know what to do! When I saw the explosions, I thought she was trying to kill you! I… just didn't want anyone to get hurt."

"It's okay…" Aviar tried to comfort her, wrapping his own arms around her and caressing her hair. "You made the right choice. Look, I'm here and I'm alright. You don't need to worry anymore."

He didn't know if she did make the right choice but concealed the detail to console her. Shadow kept crying into his chest, letting out all her pent-up stress and emotion. Aviar held her in his arms, staring out at the horizon. The sun had already dipped below the horizon and night was going to come soon.

They didn't stand for long before a new guest appeared in an unconventional manner. She dropped from the sky and landed with a thud. A massive pair feathered wings sprouted from her back, furling behind her as she rose to her feet. Despite the alarming feature, Aviar immediately recognized her chocolate eyes and gleaming face.

"Hey, Seraph!" he called weakly. "I found Shadow."

Hearing his words, Shadow detached herself from him and spun around to see Seraph. She ran and collided with her for an embrace, causing Seraph to grunt and chuckle. "Honey, where have you been? I was worried about you."

Aviar slouched, grasping his injury. "Cyrene made a threat to kill her if she went to either of us. That's what she told me."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, honey…" she breathed, patting Shadow as she held her. Aviar stood and watched them, not saying much else. He couldn't help but admire Seraph's folded wings, the symbol of her mastery. She always looked so majestic with them, especially when paired with her Coat of arms.

Seraph looked up at Aviar from her hug. "How's the wound?"

He peeled his hand away from his abdomen, showing the stab. "Better than better. Still hurts to move, though."

"Hmm…" she hummed as she studied it. "Nothing a little healing magic can't fix. You'll be okay."

"Heh, thanks."

Seraph and Shadow pulled apart from their hug. Shadow stood aside, still sniffling and wiping her tear-stained face. Aviar decided to give her some space, and Seraph glanced over at the unconscious bodies of Caldera and Cyrene. She looked back at Aviar. "What happened after I left?"

"Uh…" Aviar trailed off. He looked to where the strange figure had disappeared and back at his mother. "...it's a long story."

"Hmm. Well, I guess you'll have to tell us the riveting tale tomorrow."

She strolled over to Caldera, reaching out with her arms and lifted her off the ground. "Anyway, we can't leave her here. We'll take care of her until she wakes up. It's getting late and it's been a long day. I think it's time we go home."

"What about Cyrene?" Aviar inquired.

Seraph cast a cursory glance to the girl in question, soon directing her vision back to him. "Eh, she'll be fine. The Fireflies will pick her up so I wouldn't worry."

She sighed. "Think you can take him home?" she directed to Shadow, who nodded.

"Good. I'll meet you guys there," Seraph stated. Gliding to the metal railing, she looked over her shoulder as her wings unfurled. "Oh, and Aviar?"

His head popped up to look at her, where she sent him a smile.

"I think you took Caldera on a fantastic date."

Aviar rolled his eyes at the comment as she took to the skies. He let out a shaky breath, attempting to release the stress that never quite left him. There would be a lot of explaining he'd have to do, and several unanswered questions still plagued his mind. A part of him hoped he imagined the meeting with the strange figure but he knew it was very real, and it would be a while before he could talk about their conversation.

"Wait, you did _what?_ " Shadow exclaimed.

Yep. Definitely a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap! Can't believe I've made it this far, but the first major arc is complete. Admittedly it's taken much longer than I would've liked, but I want to thank you for sticking around regardless! I'm super happy at the reviews I've received and it's always nice to know that someone is reading and enjoying your work. It's been hard at times but I intend to keep trekking onward and complete this story no matter how long it takes me.**

 **That being said, I'll probably disappear for a bit as I plan out the next arc. So, don't worry if I go another three months without uploading, especially since school will be starting up soon for me. If I go like... two years without uploading, then you should get worried XD. Beyond that thanks once again for reading, and I'll be back with the next exciting installment of this story!**


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